Ufra Mir, the first, the only, and the youngest peace psychologist in the world from South Asia, is an inspiration with an inspiring story to tell. She hails from Khanyar (Srinagar) and belongs to a simple middle-class family that relocated to Leh due to business losses incurred in Srinagar. Ufra originally aspired to become an astronaut. However, destiny had something else in store, which changed her life and made a positive difference in Kashmiris’ lives. Let us meet this extraordinary lady from Kashmir.
A Brief History of Ufra
Born in Srinagar but brought up and raised in Ladakh, Ufra was a bright student. She topped in the tenth grade and further traveled to Pune to pursue higher secondary education and joined a peace-based school, The United World College of India (UWC), and became the first Kashmiri to get selected there with a full scholarship. Ufra’s parents wanted her to study medicine. However, inspired by Kalpana Chawla, she dreamt of becoming an astronaut. But then, opting for psychology proved a life-changing experience!
How did Peace Psychology happen?
Ufra is a sensitive human being who thinks beyond herself. Choosing to study psychology changed her life. It helped her understand herself and her pain as a Kashmiri better. Back then, the valley did not have many psychologists. So, when she took psychology as a part of her International Baccalaureate Diploma, she knew she would be doing psychology for the rest of her life.
At UWC, Ufra lived with students from various countries. The questions people asked her about Kashmir prompted her to seriously think about her identity as a Kashmiri Muslim girl. She was shaken by the sight of students of her age sinking into drug addictions and people suffering due to psychosocial issues, given the conflict in the valley. As a result, she wanted to do something for her people and create awareness of the Kashmir conflict in and outside India.
That’s how peace psychology happened! This young Kashmiri girl was intrigued by peace and conflict processes. As a part of her learning process, she got an opportunity to become a part of the Indo-Pak conference in UWC as a facilitator. Furthermore, her experiences at UWC helped her shape her passion for mental health and peace into building a psychosocial empowerment initiative.
Over the years, Ufra has worked with several at-risk youngsters (and their families) who have been involved in regular protests and stone-pelting, orphans who’ve lost their parents due to terrorism, young children striving for better education, half-widows who await the arrival of their disappeared husbands, youth struggling with drug addiction, and women entrepreneurs attempting to make a difference.
Ufra’s Working Approach and Methodology
Ufra works to change the way of thinking in order to transform lives. She uses art as a diagnostic form and finds it more relevant in Kashmir due to the lack of expression. Most of her work is workshop-based, coupled with one-on-one interactions. It involves experiential activities, scenarios, simulations, exercises to convey the message through a diagnostic approach and pre- and post-assessments.
Additionally, she uses art forms such as art journaling, creative writing, storytelling, etc., to initiate the healing process. She believes that in a place like Kashmir, where people have undergone pain due to various reasons and which lacks powerful platforms for expression, healing through a creative process becomes essential. Ufra feels peace is a process and not a product, and people keep looking for it as something existing in the future.
Her Hardships and Struggle
The young Kashmiri has indeed worked hard to become what she is today. She has made many sacrifices at various levels. She once sustained herself and her program Paigaam (the first and the only organization in Kashmir that offers peace education) in the US by making handmade jewelry, as her family was unhappy with her rejecting many job offers.
Many people still do not understand what she does, as it is unconventional and different from what most do in Kashmir. After returning to Kashmir, many advised her to return abroad and live a luxurious life. But despite the resistance, discouragement, and the lack of a professional support system, Ufra stood by her decision to make a positive difference in people’s lives and continued working for the cause.
Even when circumstances required her to manage her professional responsibilities and look after her bedridden ailing father (who suffered from COPD before passing away in 2014), Ufra remained firm on her decision. She proved herself a committed peace promoter and, at the same time, a good daughter.
Ufra’s Achievements
Ufra has worked at both the national and international levels. It includes organizations such as the US Department of Peace (USA), Nobel Peace Prize forums (USA), Bill Clinton’s Global Initiative (USA), World Economic Forum (India), & the Swedish Institute (Sweden). She was also interviewed on Doordarshan in 2012. Additionally, since 2012, she has been working towards establishing peace education programs in schools in Kashmir and establishing youth empowerment workshops across India.
What did we learn from Ufra?
One of the many important things young Ufra teaches us is to look beyond oneself, working selflessly, and making a positive difference in people’s lives. For many, who look at challenges as obstacles, Ufra, who is self-made and has overcome several hardships and challenges, views them as opportunities. She serves as an inspiration and will continue to remain one for many more years to come!
