Missing Mumbai woman found in Pakistan after 20 years with help of social media

It's a bit similar to the story of the Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan in which he tries to reunite 'Munni' with her family in Pakistan. A 70-year-old Mumbai woman, who went missing 20 years ago after travelling abroad for work, has been found in Pakistan with the help of social media.

Hamida Bano, who left Mumbai in 2002 to work as a house maid in Dubai, was recently traced to Pakistan's Hyderabad with the help of an activist there who uploaded her video on YouTube.

With the help of social media, Hamida managed to get in touch with her family in Mumbai's Kurla area.


According to reports, activist Waliullah Maroof in Pakistan met Bano in Hyderabad, who narrated her horror story about how an agent in Mumbai cheated her 20 years with a promise of work in Dubai, and sent her to Pakistan instead.

After arriving in Hyderabad across the border, she got married to a local man, with whom she had a child.

On hearing her story, Maroof uploaded Bano's video on his YouTube channel and looked for a social activist in Mumbai who could help him. He got in touch with activist Khaflan Shaikh.


Shaikh circulated her video in his local group and tracked down Bano's daughter Yasmeen Bashir Shaikh, who lives in Kasaiwada area of Kurla.

"My mother left India in 2002 to Dubai for work with the help of an agent. However, because of the agent's negligence, she landed in Pakistan. We were unaware of her whereabouts and could get in touch with her only once through the same agent," Yasmeen said.

"We are happy that our mother is alive and safe. We now want the Indian government to help us bring her back,'' Yasmeen said.

The family plans to approach the Pakistan High Commission to bring Bano back home to India.