Lucknow— The social media is touched by a picture of a woman in Hijab, walking on the street with Swiggy's signature delivery bag on her back. The picture caught everyone's attention two days ago and everyone assumed the woman to be a Swiggy delivery agent going to homes for delivery food parcels. The Mooknayak team thought of it first to find out about the mystery lady who have been garnering the people's attention on a wide scale as her picture spread like fire all over the Internet. The Mooknayak reporter Satya Prakash Bharti spent a whole day in search of the woman and finally managed to reach her home in a narrow gully in Janta nagri colony at the Jagat Narayan road chowk of Lucknow city.
A heart rendering tale of a poor but hardworking mother Rizwana is revealed before the world now , who have been working tirelessly for 3 years now to sustain a livelihood and look after her family including 3 children.
Rizwana, who hails from a poor family told The Mooknayak that she was married 23 years ago. Her husband drove an auto rickshaw but one day the rickshaw was stolen. "He started begging on the streets after losing the only source of livelihood. He was extremely stressed and not knowing what to do, one day he left home and didn't come back" Rizwana said with tears welled up in her eyes. It has been 3 years since they have not seen him and do not even know whether he is alive or dead.
Despite facing several hardships Rizwana managed to get her eldest daughter Lubna (22) married off two years ago. Rizwana lives in a congested 10x10 room with daughters Bushra (19) and Nashra (7) and son Yaseen (11). An uneducated and single mother has to face severe hardship to raise her kids and Rizwana works the entire day to earn money for her family. Rizwana works as a domestic help in a couple of homes in the morning and evening which fetches her 1500 rupees per month. For additional income Rizwana started supplying disposable cups and glasses to street vendors with tea and coffee shops. "I earn 2-3 rupees per packet which amounts to 5 -6 thousand rupees a month" the woman poured out her heart.
Rizwana's sales job requires much commutation from one end of the city to the other. "I walk some 20-25 kilometers daily to sell the items to street vendors. I walk so that I can save money to meet petty expenses at home instead of spending it on transportation. Rizwana's picture wasting a burqa and carrying the Swiggy signature bag has aroused interest among people who assumed her to be a delivery agent for the company. "No I don't have anything to do with Swiggy, I don't work for them. I needed a strong bag to keep the items and so I spotted this one from a street vendor which cost me 50 rupees" the woman said.
Speaking about the challenges she meets daily, Rizwana told The Mooknayak that life is very difficult specially for a single mother. She said when people see a lady carrying a heavy load on her back, walking in a naqab, they pass lewd comments , some make obscene remarks and even ridicule. She says it used to hurt her earlier but now she doesn't pay attention to by-passers and is focussed only on her work.
When Rizwana is away at work, her daughter Bushra cooks and look after the younger siblings at home. When asked whether she knew that her picture has gone viral all over the social media, Rizwana said "Yes one of the shopkeepers showed me the picture on his mobile, but what is the advantage to me. The one who has clicked and posted it would be famous" she said disinterestedly.
However, Rizwana's daughter Bushra is quite happy and said that she is proud of her mother who toils day and night so that her children get education. To lend a helping hand to her mother, Bushra has recently taken up a sale girl's job in a shop. She said she wants to continue studies but due to the poor financial condition, they cannot afford education at this point of time.
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