Thirty-six-year-old Nusrat Parveen decided to beat all odds and turn her pain into motivation. She has become the first Muslim woman from India and first from Kashmir to bag the prestigious title of Mrs. India International- 2018, held in Malaysia.
“My pain was so deep and cruel. I faced that all alone, hence, managed to come out of the ordeal. I decided to leave all my agonies behind to do something for myself”, Nusrat Parveen told media.
Nusrat hails from Yaripora Khanpora village of Kulgam district in South Kashmir.
Nusrat, a mother of three children told media, her failed marriage was a trauma in her life. “But that becomes my motivation too”, she added.
“I had a love marriage with a man from Maharashtra state, who is an architect. The more successful architecture he became in life, the more distanced he got from me and our children. But as a typical and obeying housewife, I still managed my relationship with him. Because to me whatever I had was my destiny and I was supposed to live with it. This is what we believe and how we live in our society”, she said.
However, a few months earlier when she got to know about her husband’s second marriage, she was left shocked and devastated. She decided to not live with the man who cheated on her and left their children as well.
Unfortunately Nusrat had mere a qualification of 10th pass and she was not able to get a job. Fortunately she saw an advertisement on ‘Instagram’ a social media platform regarding Mrs. India International -2018 to be held in Malasiya.
Nusrat said that before her marriage she had a dream to pursue career in entertainment and fashion industry, but she couldn’t make it. “So when i was not able to get a job. I decided if i could not live my dream in my earlier age. I thought why not to try now as i had nothing to do. So i tried and submitted an online registration form for the contest”.
No, it was not so easy even to register for the competition. Nusrat says she sold her jewelry to submit the fee besides to manage expenses for a profile shoot in Goa and Mumbai. Finally she was selected for the audition of Mrs. India International organized by India Fashion Festival (IFF).
Interestingly more than nine thousand women were selected from different cities of Delhi, Aurangabad, Bangalore, Mumbai for the audition held in Bangalore, among only ten women were selected. Luckily, Nusrat was among the ten women finalist.
Nusrat said that this was the time when everyone including herself felt that how can she manage in this huge competition. But it was a pleasant surprise for the middle-class housewife who gives importance to her simplicity and faces number of tough tests in life, bags it (crown) at the first place.
In the final ten at Malasiya, Nusrat was chosen without a smell of the competition. Nusrat recalls that during the competition in the ramp show, she fell down three times wearing high heel sandals, but managed intelligently. “I have never done it before (Ramp show)”, she told.
Showing her intelligence and internal beauty, Nusrat had delivered few lines from a poetry of Alama Iqbal at the end in question answer session of the contest, “Girte hain sheh-sawaar hi maidaan-e-jang mein .Woh tifl kya gire ga jo ghutnon ke bal chale”.
(Translation: The brave those who ride high only fall in the battle field, what will those pygmies fall who crawl on their knees.)
“I told them (judges), i am a house wife, mother of three children, who is confined to four walls for her house, looking after her children and household chores. Today I am at a stage for the first time”, Nusrat recollected.
When asked about what according to her made her to win this international title in such a huge competition, she said, “I am simple. I just do my household work. I have a simple approach towards life. This perhaps impresses the judges”.
Nusrat said that she has no confidence to speak in English, adding, “I even requested judges to speak to me in Hindi, they agreed”.
This seems different but that is called simplicity ‘Sadagi’ and on the same analogy she achieved the success in her first attempt. “I am happy that i have my own identity now. I have my own name now. No one knew me before when i was Mrs. of Mazahir Shaikh. Now many people know me”, she said.
Nusrat is happy that she tried in an international competition and succeeded. She says that her three kids, daughter (15), son (9), another son (3) are also happy for her success adding that that is all she wants. Nusrat said that she also got support from people of Kashmir, mostly youngsters on social media during her finale.
“I am from Kashmir where women remain confined. I got support even from there. Most of people who follow me on social media are from Kashmir. They compliment me; mostly youngsters, however those who have rigid thinking speak negative, but i avoided that”, she added.
Nusrat has a message for new age housewives that they should not be confined to four walls of their house. “They should get time for themselves, live for themselves. I was also a housewife with low confidence but an incident changed my life, gave me courage. I had almost accepted failure in my life, but then i decided to move on. I decided to make my name and to do something in life”, she advises.
Nusrat had to come through the pangs of the society, thorns in the way and a lot of struggle to claim the crown. Behind the delicate appearance of this fashion model, is a story of iron lady, who is out there with a mission to prove that no matters what, if you have a strong will, you can achieve wonders. Indeed, this lady has proven her existence without taking the basis of anyone.
