Rasheeda , the widow of rationalist H Farooq, who was murdered by radicalised Islamists in the city, has moved on with life.

Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhakam (DVK), a rationalist outfit, in which her slain husband was a member, has helped her set up a small garment shop at Selvapuram.

The woman who sounded dejected and lost at her house, soon after her husband was murdered by his own friends for being an atheist, now sounds confident, six months later. “I have moved on with life and the small shop that I now own is a boost to my self-confidence. I am able to make enough money to sustain my day-to-day life. Business is considerably better when there is a festival round the corner, otherwise it’s just another day. I travel to places like Kerala, Erode and Tirupur to procure clothes and my shop caters to both children and adults,” she told The Covai Post.

She says that she feels relieved that her children Mohammed Afrid and Anafa Farooq are now studying in a private school in the city and their education expenses are taken care of by the DVK. She however expressed anguish that three of the accused arrested for the murder of her husband were now out on bail. “I’m waiting to confront them sometime. I will ask them why they did something as ghastly as this. How could they do it to someone who they called their friend? Why in the name of Allah did they kill someone who trusted them?”

The President of Dravida Viduthalai Kazhakam (DVK) Kolathur Mani told Covai Post that the party in association with few rationalist forums in Kerala had pooled in funds to help the family. “A sum of Rs 4 lakhs has been deposited in the bank as fixed deposits for each of the children and Rs 2.5 lakh was handed over to Farooq’s mother,’ he said. When asked if the incident would deter Muslims from being part of rationalist outfits, he said that the radicalised Islamists were creating a kind of fear by indulging in such drastardly murders. “Even the funeral of Farooq witnessed only few people from the area. Though they wanted to be present they fear association with rationalists because of such extremists,” he added.