Working women and students are facing hardships in the federal capital due to lack of accommodation facilities and hostels.
Working women hailing from different parts of the country face a major challenge of finding a suitable place, at a reasonable rate with the basic living facilities.
Palosha, who came to Islamabad from Peshawar for a job, said that she was living in Islamabad for the last two years and during this time she had to change a dozen hostels in search of a good place.
She said: “Finding a comfortable place for living was a gigantic task for me,” and added that lack of appropriate living places also created many psychological, cultural and social problems for the working women.
“Living in a hostel, one finds a number of problems like non-cooperative roommates, unhygienic food and substandard accommodation,” said Uzma, who is studying Pharmacy.
Two other students also said they had gone through a lot, and had learned how to make adjustment with different people while living in a hostel.
“There are a lot of problems, a working woman faces in a male dominated society, while living alone in a new city,” Aliya pointed out.
Many girls also complained about the lack of recreational facilities like television, library, computer, games, and playgrounds in hostels.
“Mostly, a small room where only one bed can be placed is filled by three floor beds, while no cupboards are provided to girls,” Rimsha, a student said.
Yasmeen and Sanobar, two students of a private college said that they lived in a small overcrowded cubicle because they had no other option.
They said rents of private women’s hostels vary within the twin cities. They range between Rs 11,000 to 12,000, but the problems are the same everywhere.