Women and the Struggle
for freedom of the Kashmiri People (JR223)
Introduction
Women have
been at the receiving end of this occupation as direct and indirect victims of
violence by the State. Women have lost their loved ones; husbands, brothers and
sons, some of whom were killed and some never returned. This gave rise to a new
sub-category among women, called ‘half-widows’, women living in the hope of
knowing whether their husbands are alive or dead. Moreover, rapes have been
used by the Indian armed forces against Kashmiri women, and the figures are
alarming; even though these cases have been documented by international investigating
agencies such as Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights,
the majority of such cases continue to remain unreported.
Women have paid a
very heavy price in this struggle for freedom of Kashmir. The cost to women,
since 1989, could be summarized as: 11179 raped; 22192 widowed; and some
portion of the 96000 dead were women. .
At least 667 women have been martyred by Indian troops since January 2001 to
2019. The
Indian forces’ personnel molested 11,113 women that included victims of
Kununposhpora mass rape and Shopian double rape and murder. An eight-year girl,
Aasifa Bano, of Kathua, was abducted, gang-raped and subsequently murdered by
Indian police personnel, last year. The report said that
thousands of women lost their sons, husbands, fathers and brothers in the
occupied territory who were subjected to custodial disappearance by Indian
Army, police and paramilitary personnel. The report further pointed out that
majority of the Kashmiris suffering from multiple psychic problems was of
womenfolk. Many mothers are waiting for their disappeared sons while widows and
half-widows are in pain.
Women were
and are in the forefront in the struggles for freedom. They did not chose to
stay back under the garb of orthodoxy but came out to the streets, as a result
of which many lost their lives and many more were victims of pellet attack,
some lost their eyesight’s.
Contribution
by Women
Some
contributions of Women are summarized as follows:
Apart from
the thousands of nameless women, fighting pitched battles with armed forces on
streets and women fighting the state legally or in political spaces, there are
younger women who are challenging narratives, one at a time, breaking the long
silence that the Indian state has managed to maintain around Kashmir and its
realities. Iffat Fatima, an independent film-maker has made a documentary ‘Khoon
diy baarav’ (Blood leaves its trails) that revolves around the
question of the whereabouts of thousands of disappeared people in Kashmir. Uzma
Falak, a young poet and researcher, uses poetry as a form of
expression remembering countless incidents that mark the Indian occupation of Kashmir.
Ocean of Tears, a documentary on Kunan Poshpora Mass Rape in Kashmir
Women Detained: The report said that several women including Hurriyat
leaders, Aasiya Andrabi, Fehmeeda Sofi and Naheeda Nasreen were and
are facing illegal detention. They are being victimized only for the reason
that they represent the Kashmiri people’s aspirations.
Parveena Ahanger Dec.,19,2018: Founder and Chairperson of the
Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) and a human rights
activist in J&K, said that if people wanted to protest, they weren’t
allowed to do so. “Forces in Kashmir are killing people indiscriminately. All
the laws are made for Kashmiri people (referring to the Armed Forces Special
Power Act),” she said.“I have travelled to many countries to inform them about
the disappearance of people in Kashmir. However, they said that India never
talks about what Kashmiris are facing,” Ahanger said, adding that “they are
killing one complete generation of Kashmir.”
Missing persons: July, 15,
2019: "Almost
ten thousand people, mostly youth, have gone missing in Kashmir. This is one of
the most horrible chapters of unrest in the valley where (Indian) armed forces
and government agencies have unlawfully picked up male members of Kashmiri
society from their families, whose whereabouts are yet not known. Mothers are
still waiting for their sons, wives for their husbands, children for their
fathers, and sisters for their brothers. Parveena Ahangar, who singled-handedly spearheaded the movement against enforced
disappearances, when her own son was picked up in August of 1990. She is still
waiting for her son, while also helping other women to fight cases for similar
incidents after forming the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons
(APDP) in 1994. Parveena has received many awards for her work and was even
nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005." Listen to her speak: https://youtu.be/KbQqFoqwpac
Kashmir
solidarity day in the World: Feb., 5, .2019: In Kabul, Afghan
women for the first time staged a rally to express solidarity with the Kashmiri
people
Women: Sep., 26, 2019: team of 5 women visited
Kashmir from September 17th-21st 2019. We wanted to see with our own eyes how
this 43 day lockdown had affected the people, particularly women and children.
The team consisted of Annie Raja, Kawaljit Kaur, Pankhuri
Zaheer from National Federation Indian Women, Poonam Kaushik from Pragatisheel
Mahila Sangathan and Syeda Hameed from Muslim Women’s Forum. This
Report is our chashmdeed gawahi (eye witness account) of ordinary people who
have lived for 43 days under an iron siege.Shops closed, hotels closed,
schools, colleges, institutes and universities closed, streets deserted was the
first visual impact as we drove out from the airport. To us it seemed a
punitive mahaul that blocked breathing freely. The picture of Kashmir that
rises before our eyes is not the populist image; shikara, houseboat, lotus, Dal
Lake. It is that of women, a Zubeida, a Shamima, a Khurshida standing at
the door of their homes, waiting. Waiting and waiting for their 14, 15, 17, 19
year old sons. Across all villages of the four districts, peoples’
experiences were the same. They all spoke of lights, which had to be turned off
around 8PM after Maghreb prayers. In Bandipora, we saw a young girl who
made the mistake of keeping a lamp lit to read for her exam on the chance that
her school may open soon. Army men angered by this breach of ‘curfew’, jumped
the wall to barge in. Father and son, the only males in the house were taken
away for questioning. ‘What questions?’, no one dared ask. The two
have been detained since then. ‘We insist that men should go indoors after 6
PM. Man
or boy seen after dusk is a huge risk. If absolutely necessary, we women go
outside’. These words were spoken by Zarina from a village near
Bandipora district headquarters. ‘In a reflex action, my four year old places a
finger on her lips when she hears a dog bark after dusk. Barking dogs mean an
imminent visit by army. I can’t switch on the phone for light so I can take my
little girl to the toilet. Light shows from far and if that happens our men pay
with their lives’. The living are inadvertently tortured by the dead. ‘People
die without warning or mourning. How will I inform my sisters about their
mother’s death?’ Ghulam Ahmed’s voice was choked. ‘They are in Traal, in
Pattan. I had to perform her soyem without her children’. The story was the
same wherever we went. People had no means of reaching out to loved ones. 43
days were like the silence of death. Public transportation was zero. People who
had private cars took them out only for essential chores. Women stood on
roadsides, flagging cars and bikes for rides. People stopped and helped out;
helplessness of both sides was their unspoken bond. ‘I was on my bike going
towards Awantipora. A woman flagged me. My bike lurched on a speed breaker. She
was thrown off. I took her to the nearby hospital. She went in a coma. I am a
poor man how could I pay for her treatment? How and who could I inform?’ These
daily events were recounted wherever we went. At a Lalla Ded Women’s Hospital
in Srinagar several young women doctors expressed their absolute frustration at
the hurdles that had been placed in their way since the abrogation of Article
370. ‘There are cases where women cannot come in time for deliveries. There are
very few ambulances, the few that are running are stopped at pickets on the
way. The result? There are several cases of overdue deliveries that produce
babies with birth deformities. It is a life long affliction, living death for
parents”. Conversely, we were told that several women are delivering babies
prematurely due to the stress and khauf (fear) in the present condition. “It
feels like the government is strangling us and then sadistically asking us to
speak at the same time,’ a young woman doctor said as she clutched her throat
to show how she felt. A senior doctor from Bandipora Hospital told us that
people come from Kulgam, Kupwara, and other districts. Mental disorders, heart
attacks, today there are more cases than he could ever recall. For emergencies
junior doctors desperately look for seniors; there is no way of reaching them
on phone. If they are out of the premises, they run on the streets shouting,
asking, searching in sheer desperation. One orthopaedic doctor from SKIMS was
stopped at the army imposed blockade while he was going for duty. He was held
for 7 days. Safia in Shopian had cancer surgery. ‘I desperately need a check up
in case it has recurred. Baji, I can’t reach my doctor. The only way is to go
to the city, but how do I get there? And if I do, will he be there?’ Ayushman
Bharat, an internet based scheme, cannot be availed by doctors and patients.
Women in villages stood before us with vacant eyes. ‘How do we know where they
are? Our boys who were taken away, snatched away from our homes. Our men go to
the police station, they are asked to go to the headquarters. They beg rides
from travellers and some manage to get there. On the board are names of ‘stone
pelters’ who have been lodged in different jails, Agra, Jodhpur, Ambedkar,
Jhajjar.’ A man standing by adds, ‘Baji we are crushed. Only a few of us who
can beg and borrow, go hundreds of miles only to be pushed around by hostile
jail guards in completely unfamiliar cities.’ At Gurdwaras we met women who
said they have always felt secure in Kashmir. ‘Molestation of women in rest of
India about which we read is unheard of in Kashmir’. Young women complained
they were harassed by army, including removal of their niqab‘. Army pounces on
young boys; it seems they hate their very sight. When fathers go to rescue
their children they are made to deposit money, anywhere between 20000 to
60000’. So palpable is their hatred for Kashmiri youth that when there is the
dreaded knock on the door of a home, an old man is sent to open it. ‘We hope
and pray they will spare a buzurg. But their slaps land on all faces,
regardless whether they are old or young, or even the very young. In any case,
Baji, we keep our doors lightly latched so they open easily with one kick’. The
irony of these simply spoken words!. Boys as young as 14 or 15 are taken away,
tortured, some for as long as 45 days. Their papers are taken away, families
not informed. Old FIR’s are not closed. Phones are snatched; collect it from
the army camp they are told. No one in his senses ever went back, even for a
slightly expensive phone. A woman recounted how they came for her 22 year old
son. But since his hand was in plaster they took away her 14 year old instead.
In another village we heard that two men were brutally beaten. No reason. One
returned, after 20 days, broken in body and spirit. The other is still in
custody. One estimate given to us was 13000 boys lifted during this lockdown.
They don’t even spare our rations. During random checking of houses which
occurs at all odd hours of the night, the army persons come in and throw out
the family. A young man working as SPO told us. ‘We keep a sizeable amount of
rice, pulses, edible oil in reserve. Kerosene is mixed in the ration bins,
sometimes that, sometimes koyla’.Tehmina from Anantnag recently urged her
husband, ‘Let us have another child. If our Faiz gets killed at least we will
have one more to call our own. Abdul Haleem was silent. He could see the dead
body of his little boy lying on his hands even as she spoke these words. ‘Yeh
sun kar, meri ruh kaanp gayi,” he tells us. A thirty year old
lawyer from Karna was found dead in his rented accommodation. He was intensely
depressed. Condolence notice was issued by Secy Bar Association. Immediately
after that he was taken into custody. Why? We spoke to a JK policeman. All of them
have been divested of their guns and handed dandas. ‘How do you feel, losing
your guns?’ ‘Both good and bad’ came the reply. ‘Why?’ Good because we were
always afraid of them being snatched away. Bad because we have no means now to
defend ourselves in a shootout. One woman security guard said ‘Indian govt
wants to make this a Palestine. This will be fought by the us, Kashmiris’. One
young professional told us, ‘We want freedom. We don’t want India, we don’t
want Pakistan. We will pay any price for this. Ye Kashmiri khoon hai. Koi bhi
qurbani denge’. Everywhere we went there were two inexorable sentiments. First,
desire for Azadi The humiliation and torture they have suffered for 70 years
has reached a point of no return. Abrogation of 370 some say has snapped the
last tie they had with India. Even those people who always stood with the
Indian State have been rejected by the Govt. ‘So, what is the worth in their
eyes, of us, ordinary Kashmiris?’ Since all their leaders have been placed
under PSA or under house arrest, the common people have become their own
leaders. Their suffering is untold, so is their patience. The second, was the
mothers anguished cries (who had seen many children’s corpses with wounds from
torture) asking for immediate stop to this brutalisation of innocents. Their
children’s lives should not be snuffed out by gun and jackboots. As we report
our experiences and observations of our stay in Kashmir, we end with two
conclusions. That the Kashmiri people have in the last 50 days shown an amazing
amount of resilience in the face of brutality and blackout by the Indian
government and the army. The incidents that were recounted to us sent shivers
down our spines and this report only summarises some of them. We salute the
courage and resoluteness of the Kashmiri people. Secondly, we reiterate that
nothing about the situation is normal. All those claiming that the situation is
slowly returning to normalcy are making false claims based on distorted facts. https://www.change.org/p/india-the-kashmir-referendum-petition/u/25115588?cs_tk=Aii5nOAxkpYzCPB0j10AAXicyyvNyQEABF8BvMaYE8rynUgbgEtbSFOR62w%3D&utm_campaign=6e53293609bd451f8b5eda00bc5ecb4a&utm_medium=email&utm_source=petition_update&utm_term=cs
Women of
Kashmir: Oct.,14,2019P: “As
feminists, women’s rights activists, peace, democratic and civil rights’
activists, lawyers, academics, students, journalists, scientists, artists,
writers, etc., we raise our voice today in salute and solidarity with the women
of Kashmir. About 500 individual women and women’s organisations from about 30
countries across the globe—ranging from South Asian nations to the US, Iran to
Indonesia, Afghanis-tan to Argentina, Europe to Mexico, Israel, Palestine,
Uganda, Nigeria and South Africa—stand with them in this, their darkest moment.
We condemn the actions of the Indian
Government and their dealing with a political problem as a territorial
one.” We call for an end to the culture
of fear and terror, violence and assault that has been cultivated in the state
for far too long; We speak out against
the continued detention of countless people of the state and demand their
immediate release; We seek an immediate end to the Internet shutdown, lift on
all restrictions on movement and communications, and a restoration of real
‘normalcy’.; We call for restrictions be lifted in order to allow the
independent media in Kashmir to carry out its duty of reporting facts and
informing the public, without fear or favour;
We urge the Indian Government to step back from its current aggressions
and stop the militarisation that has failed to solve the problem since
independence; We seek a reinstatement of
consultative processes with the people of Jammu and Kashmir on any action that
concerns them, their lives and their community; We call for an end to the smokescreens
of Kashmir being an ‘internal matter’ etc., to avoid meaningful dialogue. For
that is the only way to evolve a long lasting peaceful solution to Kashmir.
Because like the women of Kashmir, we have also, all too often, been told that
the violence and control we face in the home, family, community and nation is
an ‘internal matter’, not to be exposed to the world. But we all have lived and
learnt the reality, that it is only in breaking our silence that we break the
shackles of our oppressions. And in that fight, we StandWithKashmir, Stand with
the Women of Kashmir! http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article9039.html
Women’s protest: Oct., 16,
2019: In
occupied Kashmir, Indian troops arrested several women after subjecting them to
brute force during an anti-India demonstration in Lal Chowk area of Srinagar,
today.. A large number of women including rights activists and leading
academicians carrying placards gathered at the Pratap Park in Srinagar. As they
started the march, the police swooped in on them and arrested several women
including the daughter and the sister of former puppet Chief Minister of
occupied Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah, during the protest against the revocation of
Kashmir’s special status. Ms Hawa Bashir, the wife of former Chief Justice of
IOK High Court, Bashir Ahmed Khan, was also among the detainees. The
protesters were dragged and subjected to torture by the police.
This was the first anti-India protest of its kind in Lal Chowk area, the center
of Srinagar, after 5th August 2019. https://kmsnews.org/news/
US hearings: Oct., 23, 2019: The
United States on Tuesday renewed calls on India to ease its clampdown in
Kashmir as several lawmakers voiced anger at actions by a country that usually
enjoys strong US support. Alice Wells, the assistant secretary
of state for South Asia, said that the United States “remains concerned” about
the impact of India’s actions in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley. “We have
urged Indian authorities to respect human rights and restore full access to
services, including internet and mobile networks,” she told a House Foreign
Affairs subcommittee. Representative
Ilhan Omar, a prominent first-term Democratic lawmaker
and one of the few Muslims in Congress, charged that Kashmir is part of a
pattern against Islam by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. Brad Sherman, Chairman
of the panel, said that the hearing will focus on the occupied valley where
thousands of people had been detained ever since India revoked Article 370..
“Many political activists have been arrested and daily life, the internet, and
telephone communications have been interrupted,” said Sherman in a statement.
He said that food, medicine and other essentials will also be reviewed in the
hearing. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have expressed concern about
human rights in Kashmir in recent months.
US House hearings South Asia: Oct., 23,
2019: recent happenings in Indian
Occupied Kashmir were discussed and concern expressed. Ms. Spanberger. , Ms. Jayapal,
Mr, Brown. Ms. Wells. .
Health, communications and diplomatic access were raised. Ms. Omar raised BJP
and Modi’s close relations with racism and violence. They are also involved in
crimes against Muslims. . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMMiVJr-A4U
US House hearings Part
II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k8UH4v-mv4. US House
hearings on human rights in South Asia, Vol II; Ms. Kaul: .RSS is
akin to Nazis: Kashmir is not a communal issue it has been communalized; Jummu
massacre is an enlarged version of Janllianwala massacre; the question is about
the consent of the people; Ms. Chatterji- Hindu
majoratism is driving events in Kashmir; Shan and Modi were part of Gujarat
massacre they have not apologized; the intent of this change is potentially genocidal; Mr. Bencosme- India threatened AI and raided
offices etc. other NGO were also targeted; they have documented human rights
violations in Kashmir; they have documented health issues n Kashmir; Dr.
Mahmood- Kashmiri have been imprisoned by India; we are facing a very brutal
regime; mental health is threathened; Ms. Houlahan- there have been numerous
violent gender based incidents including rape and group rapes ; Mr. Levin-
situation is very dire in occupied Kashmir; Assam tribunals do not meet
international standards; Ms. Wild- no justification
for the clamp down ; something has been hidden ; 370 abrogation is not a step
to better women rights; union territory is a step backwards; Ms. Omar- Indian actions are
wrongly termed as for the betterment of women rights; Mr. Lieu: violence
against Christians is State sponsored; all other religions are persecuted; when
the State sues violence and is also upholding justice is exactly why Kushneris
want the matter to be internalized; Ms. Jayapal: laws are used to
arbitrarily hold people or even kill people
Tom Lantos HRC: Nov., 15, 2019: The Tom Lantos
Human Rights Commission, a bi-partisan commission, held the hearing on Thursday
to examine the human rights situation in Kashmir in its historical context, a
statement issued at the Commission’s website said Indian-American Congresswoman, Pramila
Jayapal, at the hearing said that she was deeply concerned by
Indian government’s actions in Kashmir. “To detain people without charge,
severely limit communications and block third parties from visiting, is harmful
to our close and critical relationship,” the Democrat said. She was joined by
other Democrats Sheila Jackson Lee, David Trone and David Cicilline, who
criticised India’s actions after scrapping Kashmir’s special status. Arunima Bhargava, commissioner
from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), said that
the rights of Muslim communities were being curtailed because of Indian
government’s actions. “Throughout the country, political and community leaders
are promulgating an ideology that suggests that to be Indian is necessarily to be
Hindu and views India’s religious minorities as subordinate or foreign,” she
told the hearing. “India’s religious minorities currently stand at a precipice.
If the Indian government continues on its current trajectory, their livelihood,
rights, and freedoms could be in serious danger,” she pointed out. On occupied
Kashmir, Bhargava said, “USCIRF is concerned about reports starting in August
that the Indian government restricted freedom of movement and assembly in Jammu
and Kashmir, limiting people’s ability to attend prayers and participate in
religious ceremonies; forestalling any large gatherings, including for
religious purposes; and for certain communities, curtailing access to
healthcare and other basic services.”She said mobile and internet services were
denied to Kashmiris and healthcare was withheld by the Indian government.
“USCIRF has also seen reports of mosques being closed; imams and Muslim
community leaders arrested and detained; and violence and threats towards
residents and businesses in particular,” she told the Commission. Bhargava, who
is of Indian descent, said the restrictions in the region impacted the ability
of people to “practice their faith”, visit their places of worship and exercise
their rights. She claimed this was targeted at a certain community.. https://kmsnews.org/news/2019/11/15/2nd-congressional-hearing-us-lawmakers-express-concern-over-indias-actions-in-iok/
Women in Kashmir: Dec., 2, 2109: A women’s conference titled “Elimination of torture
against women with special reference to Kashmir” was jointly organised by
Kashmir Women’s Movement UK and Europe and Sheffield Sisters4Kashmir in the Town
Hall’s Council Chambers in Sheffield in the English county of South
Yorkshire. On the sidelines of the
conference an exhibition titled “Losing Sight in Kashmir – Bloom of the Dead
Eyes” was also organised by Organisation ofKashmir Coalition (OKC). A video
enumerating the atrocities committed on Kashmiri women by the Indian occupying
forces was also screened on the occasion.
Zahira Naaz, introduced the event and said that
humanitarian crises always have a gender angle, particularly those involving
armed conflict adding that trends analysis by the United Nations in 2018 shows
that sexual violence is factored into the broader strategy of conflict, with
women and girls being disproportionately affected and It has been no different
in Kashmir’s disturbed history. Nighat Hafiz took over from
here and moderated the event. Mrs Shamim Shawl apprised the
participants about the challenges and consequences of the recent developments
created by a Hindu fascist regime who have started a systematic process to
change the demographic profile of the state by crippling the economy and
facilitating the Indian population to come into state to convert the Muslim
majority into a minority. She said that these developments on one hand cripple
the economy and on the other generate fear for economic migration. She
appreciated Sheffield women to be in the front line to create awareness about
the challenges at hand in occupied Kashmir. Rana Shama Nazir
gave an overview of the dispute and explained its chronological evolution. She
lamented that the promises with regard to self-determination remain
unfulfilled. Gill Furniss pleaded for an ethical foreign policy and
promised the conference that she would stand with Kashmir. She also referred to
the harrowing atrocities that she had viewed in a Kashmir documentary shown to
her by a constituent. She also pleaded that British envoy in the United Nations
should play effective role on behalf of the government as it was incumbent on
the British government to play a pro-active role. . Shahad Abdul Salam said that
occupation is a crime from Palestine to Kashmir. She also discussed the similar
practices of Israel and India. She said that Israeli apartheid is travelling to
Kashmir. Shahad believe that both Kashmir and Palestine need international
solidarity to restore human dignity in these occupied lands. Maxine
Bowler delivered the concluding remarks. She pleaded for making the
women voices heard for raising the humanitarian concerns such as the sufferings
of the locked down Kashmiris. The message from the
conference is loud and clear that we all need to pool efforts to bring about a
qualitative transformation in the British Foreign Policy regarding the Kashmir
dispute and that she shell of bilateralism has to open up for international
facilitation.The conferences emphasised that atrocities of a supremacist
regressive and extreme right Indian government in Kashmir must come to an end
and that the international solidarity should help Kashmiris to become masters
of their destiny by choosing a political future of their choice. https://kmsnews.org/news/2019/12/02/plight-of-kashmiri-women-highlighted-at-seminar-in-uk/
US
Congress: Jan., 14, 2020: The
situation in Kashmir violates human rights, a US Congresswoman has said, as she
joined as co-sponsors to a resolution urging India to end restrictions on
communications and mass detentions in the newly created Union Territory. The
resolution No. 745 that was introduced in the House of Representatives last
year by Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal now has 36
cosponsors, of whom two are Republicans and 34 from the opposition Democratic
Party."The situation in Kashmir violates human rights. Thousands have been
detained unjustly & millions are without access to the internet &
telephones," Congresswoman Debbie Dingell said in a
tweet Monday night. "That's why I signed onto House Resolution 745 so the
US can let the world know we will not stand by while these violations
happen," she said. Dingell represents 12th Congressional District of Michigan.
.
https://www.news18.com/news/world/situation-in-kashmir-violates-human-rights-says-us-congresswoman-joins-pramila-jayapals-resolution-2457079.html
UK member of Parliament
denied entry: Feb., 17, 2020: Debbie Abrahams, a Labour Party Member of
Parliament who chairs a parliamentary group focused on Kashmir, was unable to
clear customs after her valid Indian visa was rejected. Abrahams has been an
outspoken critic of the August 5, 2019 abrogation of Article 370. Shortly after the changes to Kashmir’s status were
passed by Parliament, Abrahams wrote a letter to India’s High Commissioner to
the UK, saying the action “betrays the trust of the people” of Kashmir. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/british-mp-debbie-abrahams-who-chairs-uk-kashmir-panel-denied-entry-to-india-6272305/?fbclid=IwAR215RLIyahdgxWlQq3wBl767kOiytMNgt3PDkk1R7z8bvfk4Yh83AysFyI
Claire Bidwell: A retired school teacher manages a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/worldkashmirteaparty/, she has taken up the cause of informing people of the plight of the Kashmiri people and has delivered a lecture on the issue .
Asya Andrabi : founding leader of Dukhtaran-e-Millat (Daughters of the
nation).This group is part of the separatist organisation 'All Parties Hurriyat Conference' in the Kashmir valley. The main aim of the organisation is to
work for the separation of Kashmir from India.[ Asiya Andrabi remains one of the most important
women separatists in the valley Asiya Andrabi was married to Qasim Faktoo (a founding member of the Hizbul
Mujahideen) in 1990. Her husband is in jail since 1992. By
then, Asiya was already the head of Kashmir's biggest network of 'women
jihadis' (as she describes her 'lieutenants of Dukhtaran-e-Millat'). Asiya
Andrabi has taken part in various protests in the Kashmir valley. She is best known for supporting Masarat Alam in the 2010 stone-pelting rallies across Kashmir
by using her village network of Dukhtaran-e-Millat operatives for rally
support.[She hoisted the Pakistan flag and sang the Pakistani
national anthem in Kashmir on 25 March 2015. Later on, she was booked for unfurling the Pakistan
flag on its national day in Srinagar. On 6 July 2018 Asiya was taken into custody by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), India's federal anti-terror organisation, for allegedly "waging
war against India" and other unlawful activities.
Impacts upon women
Some
impacts upon women are summarized as follows:
Human
rights watch: has
also accused the Indian security forces of using children as spies and
messengers, India army have targeted reporters and human rights activists, they
have also been accused of committing over 200 rapes in an attempt to intimidate
the local population. Wikileaks cables are reported to contain material stating
that the International Committee of the Red Cross briefed US officials in
India, alleging that India “condoned” torture and that “sexual penetration” formed part of the maltreatment of victims.
"The ICRC alleged that of the 1296 detainees interviewed, 681 had reported
of being tortured. Of those, 304 individuals complained of sexual
torture/abuse. "In 2005 Médecins Sans Frontières conducted a
survey in Kashmir which found that the number of people who had witnessed a
rape in Kashmir since 1989 was comparably far higher than the number of people
who had witnessed a rape in other conflict zones such as Chechnya and Sri
Lanka. The survey found that 13% of respondents had witnessed rape and 11.6% of
the interviewees had themselves been victims of sexual abuse since 1989"
LoC Violations: Jan., 10, 2019: a mortar shell
fired by Indian troops from across the frontier in Kashmir killed a woman as she was trying to
reach a shelter during an exchange of fire between India and Pakistan. Akhtar
Ayub says the woman, identified as Sajida Bibi, was “martyred” Wednesday when
the shell hit her near the bunker in Bugna village north of Muzaffarabad, the
capital of Pakistan-controlled section of Kashmir.
LoC Violations: Mar.,3,2019: ISPR had reported Indian firing across the
LoC, as a result of which two citizens were martyred while two others,
including a woman, were injured.
Women’s day: Mar., 9, 2019: As the world is
observing the International Women’s Day, today, the miseries and victimization
of Kashmiri women by Indian troops and police personnel continue unabated in
occupied Kashmir. According to a report released by the Research Section of
Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, today,
thousands of women were among 95,316 Kashmiris martyred by Indian military,
paramilitary and police personnel since January 1989 till date. At
least 667 women have been martyred by Indian troops since January 2001 till
date. The report pointed out that since January 1989; the unabated
Indian state terrorism rendered 22,899 women widowed. The Indian forces’
personnel molested 11,113 women that included victims of Kununposhpora mass
rape and Shopian double rape and murder. An eight-year girl, Aasifa Bano, of
Kathua, was abducted, gang-raped and subsequently murdered by Indian police
personnel, last year. The report said that thousands of women lost their sons,
husbands, fathers and brothers in the occupied territory who were subjected to
custodial disappearance by Indian Army, police and paramilitary personnel. As
per the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, more than 8,000
Kashmiris went missing in custody during the past 30 years, it added. The
report said, during the ongoing mass uprising triggered by the extrajudicial
killing of prominent youth leader, Burhan Wani, on 8th July in 2016, hundreds
of unarmed Kashmiri youth, school boys and girls have been injured due to the
firing of bullets and pellets by the Indian forces’ personnel on peaceful
protesters. Of these injured at least 70 young boys and girls including Insha
Mushtaq and Ifra Shakour lost eyesight while 18-month baby Hiba Nisar and
32-year-old Nusrat Jan suffered partial damage to their eyesight,
it said. The report said that several women including Hurriyat leaders,
Aasiya Andrabi, Fehmeeda Sofi and Naheeda Nasreen were facing illegal detention.
They are being victimized only for the reason that they represent the Kashmiri
people’s aspirations. The report further pointed out that
majority of the Kashmiris suffering from multiple psychic problems was of
womenfolk. Many mothers are waiting for their disappeared sons
while widows and half-widows are in pain.
LoC:
July, 30, 2019: At least one civilian was killed while seven
others were injured in a village in Azad Jammu and Kashmir in yet another
"unprovoked" ceasefire violation by Indian forces from across the
Line of Control (LoC officials said on
Monday . Rehmat Jan, a 45-year-old
woman who lived in Mandhar village, died after being hit by the splinters of a
mortar shell, Zaheer told Dawn. Another resident of the village, Begum
Jan (48) was injured due to Indian shelling, he said. Three civilians — Zainab
Jan (60), Muhammad Naeem Dar (24) and Ulfat Rashid (17) — were injured in
Kairni village while Munir Hussain (20), Kausar Parveen (26) and Nosheen (18)
were wounded in Kachar Ban. The civilian
death toll in the current year has increased to 22, including 13 men and nine
women.
About 11 army personnel have also
been martyred along the LoC in the ongoing year, Qureshi added.
Blinded children: Oct., 30, 2019:“ I could not write my class 10 board exam,” says 17-year-old Ulfat
Hameed, a Class 10 student from Baramulla https://www.dawn.com/news/1513749?fbclid=IwAR2UMEnMz84kpK9IbkgtIEyefxDn0cQKR1AdKVReUfVraG8a_96vMZuIt5c
Women: Nov.,
7, 2019: A mother
unable to get updates from the hospital about her premature newborn. A bride
who couldn't have the wedding of her dreams. The photojournalist who risks
double harassment by security forces due to her profession and her gender. Life
has been a struggle for ordinary Kashmiris Kashmiri women are suffering from
the lockdown in their own less visible way. Zahida Jahangir's son
was born premature and weak. He was rushed from the clinic where he was born to
the neo-natal intensive care unit in a children's hospital across town. The
lockdown made it nearly impossible to visit her son or even communicate with
the hospital. Zahida was separated from her son for the first 20 days of his
life, and though he is now healthy, the experience has created what she says is
a pain only a mother could know and left her with regrets that will last a
lifetime. Kulsuma Rameez's wedding was scheduled for during the
lockdown and she was unable to go shopping for the wedding dress she dreamed
of. Instead she was married in a borrowed dress at a small ceremony attended by
a few relatives and neighbors. After the ceremony, she had to walk to her new
home as the roads were blocked. Photojournalist Masrat Zahra was
covering the first Friday protest since the lockdown when a police officer
threatened to kick her. She notes that Kashmiri women can't leave their homes
without a male companion out of fear they'll be harassed by soldiers.
Nevertheless, she is undeterred. Ateeqa Begum has lived alone ever since
her only son 22-year-old Fasil Aslam Mir, the family's sole breadwinner, was
detained on his way home after fetching medicines for her on the day the
lockdown began."My son has been shifted to a jail in an Indian
city and I have no means to travel there to see him," she said.A doctor at
a hospital in Indian Kashmir's main city, Sabahat Rasool says she's seen the
lockdown forever alter lives. She tells the story of a pregnant woman who
refused to be admitted to the hospital because she had no way to tell her
family that she wouldn't be coming home and didn't want them to worry that she
had been kidnapped. She was brought in unconscious the next day."She
survived but lost her unborn baby," Sabahat said.https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/11/06/world/asia/ap-as-kashmir-women-photo-gallery.html
Video: Nov., 27, 2019: Three sisters narrate, 25 masked men smashed their window and
barged into their house and grabbed their father Abdul Hameed Karim,, an
administrator in the postal services. They took their mother Uncle and father
to unknown location, . They destroyed everything owned by the family . The
girls fear that they might not see their father again. SHO denied any
involvement. A video prepared by a Western source details all this.
Kashmiri
women: Nov., 28, 2019: Ahmad, a class 7 student, was equally afraid. The police first
dragged his sister by the hair, and then thrashed her in front of Ahmad. His
cousin's sister, Soliha Jan, couldn’t bear the scene and tried to intervene.
The police didn’t budge and turned towards Soliha and beat her up as well. They
kicked her in the stomach and also hit her back, they say as her family recalls
the horrifying day in August. “Soliha vomited blood through her mouth and then
fainted,” her mother said. She then took her to a city hospital where she
underwent an X-ray. After a few more tests, the doctors advised that she be
admitted to the emergency ward While
most of the detainees ahead of the revocation of Kashmir’s autonomy were men,
the valley’s womenfolk also bore the brunt of state violence in multiple ways.
For Soliha and her family, that day was the worst amidst the enforced
clampdown, “I thought my daughter died when I saw her lying on the road,” her
mother said. It took two weeks for her to recover. The 16-year-old girl hadn’t
expected such harassment from the local police, “they don’t differentiate,
didn’t even realise that I was a girl,” she said. For the last
three months, Soliha has been suffering from nightmares of that incident and is
finding it hard to focus, “my exams are coming, and I haven’t been able to
study.”Since the incident took place, the family is afraid to talk to
media. “We fear that they will intimidate us if we will speak about it.”
Such was the fear that during their conversations with TRT World, the brother
of the victim stood guard outside his home, fearing that police might catch on
and they'd be harassed. But it wasn’t torture alone. Kashmiri women also have to
face the
burden of navigating India’s tiring legal system to seek the release of their sons.
When the Indian government clamped down on communication in Kashmir, families,
and mothers of detainees had to visit several jails to find where their sons
had been put up. A group of activists from India-including a social activist, Kavita
Krishnan, travelled to Kashmir in August, after the abrogation of
Article 370, and spoke to Indian media saying, “there was feeling a sense of
betrayal, and people were angry at being denied the special status. The misery
of residents was further aggravated as there was no communication, and the
people were made to live like in an open jail, the activists claimed.” After Shakeela
Bano’s son Shahid*, a 16-year-old from Srigufwara Anantnag, was
detained by police in Anantnag and shifted him outside of
Kashmir, she lost all hope that her son would be released anytime soon.“My son
is a kid, how can any justice system in the universe put a minor under the
Public Safety Act?” she asked.On August 4, Shahid was picked up by police who
assured the family that he will be released the next morning. When the family
went to the police station the next day, the same day Kashmir's autonomous
status was revoked, police told them that they had shifted Shahid to Central
jail Srinagar, 80kms from their place. After four days, he was shifted outside
Srinagar into India proper, without informing the family. Shahid's PSA dossier
shows that he was detained on charges of being affiliated with
Jaish-e-Mohammed, a terrorist organisation after he completed his 12th class
examination. But the irony in his case was that he hadn’t even attended his
12th class board examination. “When I came to know that our son was shifted
outside Kashmir, darkness fell before my eyes. Everything seemed blurred,” said
Bano. Shahid's family had to file habeas corpus in the high court, and
on September 20, the Supreme Court of India directed the Juvenile Justice
Committee of Jammu and Kashmir High Court to examine allegations that children
have illegally been detained. On October 1, the PSA of Shahid was revoked, and
he was released on 29th September, two months after his initial detention.
Bano, sitting next to her son, stares at him helplessly. She fears that her son
will not be able to live the life he could before. Shahid, who is attending his
12th class board exams, now sits in his room but doesn’t study, “I don’t feel
like studying now, I don’t want to remain confined in my room. I cannot believe
that I am finally free,” he said. The
restrictions imposed by the Indian government have taken a heavy toll on access
to healthcare and prevented many from reaching hospitals for urgent care. Dr
Omar Salim, a doctor from Kashmir, protested in August outside a government
hospital in Srinagar against the restriction on phones and internet in Jammu
and Kashmir. He felt the blackout was preventing patients from receiving
government health benefits.
Ameena Jan, a 30-year-old from the summer capital of Kashmir recently
had to walk 10 kilometres to reach a hospital for a checkup. Jan who is eight
months pregnant couldn’t take her husband along instead her mother had to walk
with her amid teargas shelling which was going in her area at that time,
“it is impossible for men to leave this place and go somewhere, when police see
that they are from Soura, they arrest them.” Doctors have told Jan that she is
anaemic and has to take proper care of her health, otherwise, it could lead
problems for her baby, “but since the situation had turned bad in Kashmir, I
had no other way but to skip going to the hospital.” For Jan, also having a proper
diet in these conditions when her husband is not able to earn anything is
impossible. A few weeks before when Jan had a checkup at the hospital, the
tests revealed that the umbilical cord had got stuck around the fetus’ neck.
Jan is apprehensive that the condition she faced was because of her
situation.“My heartbeat would increase every time clashes would occur.” She
also harboured fears that the army and police might barge into her home and
take her husband when any clashes occur in the area. She is now terrified about
the prospect of going into labour.“I feel like we won’t be allowed to reach the
hospital on time,” she said. For all her life, Kulsum Jan has been planning for
her wedding.Kulsum's wedding date happened to be just three days after the Indian
government's moves to annex Kashmir. “It was not possible to cancel the event
on the last moment,” Kulsum says. She of course had no idea that situation
would become so unmanageable, Kulsum had to borrow a dress from her cousin for
her special day, “my cousin got married three days before the article was
scrapped, I had no other way but to wear her dress on my marriage,” she said.
Earlier when she sent her cousin to get a dress (lehanga) from somewhere, he
got stuck between police and stone-pelters and Kulsum then had to skip out on
the idea of getting a new dress. The 23-year-old couldn’t even invite her
cousins from other districts. “Because of the communication blackout, it was
impossible to call them or even go to their place.” Women in Soura say that the
males were not able to travel anywhere because of the fear of police and army,
“Any male who held an identity card of Anchaar area was either arrested or
assaulted,” said Kulsum. Her groom had to ask permission from authorities when
to visit Anchaar to take his bride. Humaira, another bride faced a similar
situation saying she had no idea when her bridegroom might arrive. “I wasn’t
prepared when he arrived. I wasn’t happy at all. I was more concerned about his
safety than about our wedding,” she said. https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/this-is-how-women-are-suffering-under-india-s-kashmir-crackdown-31692
Missing
sons: Feb., 7, 2020: Several Kashmiri mothers are awaiting the return of their sons who
were picked up by the armed forces ahead of the August 5 announcement altering
the constitutional status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The arrested men
have been moved to faraway jails in various states across country. As per Jammu
Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society ( JKCCS ), 412 people were charged under
Public Safety Act (PSA), which allows preventive custody for two years without
trial or charges, after August 5 last year and majority of them have been moved
to jails outside the Valley. 80-year-old Zaina hobbles through room
sits quietly in a corner and takes out a picture of her son and stares at it
without blinking her eyes. After a while, she wraps a piece of
cloth around the picture, kisses it, and puts it back. “They have expunged my
heart. I am restless. He is the light of my eyes. I am suffocating inside,” she
wails. She has not seen her son in past six months after he was picked up by
armed forces from his home in Southern Kashmir’s Bello village.“Only god’s name
is with me now. I do not know what to do. I am helpless,” she says. She was not
home when her son, Lateef Ahmad Dar, was picked up by the Army from his home in
Southern Kashmir’s Bello village. Next morning, she rushed to her home and
headed straight to the Rajpora police station to see her son, “When I saw him,
he pretended to be alright. His face was pale and his voice suggested he was
unwell. We hardly talked. We looked at each other’s face and wept,” she says. The
police officers there told her that he would be released soon. But that did not
happen. Instead, he was first shifted to central jail and then to Agra, “I
visited central jail, where I was thoroughly frisked, almost stripped. “They
looked inside my clothes and asked me to remove my pheran (a knee-length
dress that Kashmiris wear during winters). It was humiliating. I tolerated
everything for my child. Even if I have go through the procedure thousands
times for the sake of my child, I would not hesitate,” she says.She says she
was then told that he would be released after August 15. “I was making
arrangements for his return, but he did not come,” she says. 56-year-old
Naseema looks downcast. She could not gather courage to meet her son in the
police station. She says on August 4, the Army scaled the wall of their house
and barged inside, “they locked me and my daughters inside a room and enquired
about my son,” she says. The last she saw her 18-year-old son was
when he opened their door and pleaded for their safety, “I have not seen him
ever since,” she says.Her head becomes heavy and her heartbeat increases
whenever she misses her son, “My veins tighten up and my head feels heavy. I
weep day and night without letting any know about it. In fact, every member of my
family weeps secretly,” she says. She says the thought of her son sleeping on a
bare floor keeps her awake, “how can a mother enjoy a cosy bed when her child
is sleeping on floor. It keeps me awake whole night,” she says. Naseema
says her son has never been away from his home even for a single day. “He
would not spend a day without me. None knows about his likes and dislikes. The
mere thought about it tears my heart into pieces,” she says.He used to change
his clothes thrice a day, “I have heard he doesn’t get good food and clothes
there. What will he do there,” she says, knowing well that travelling to
distant jail is a tough call for her. Atiqa, 55, sits on the
verandah of her mud house with her gaze fixed at the door hoping that someday
her son will open it and emerge from there. She says her son is the only person
left in her life. Her husband died a decade ago and she was living with her
son. He was the sole bread earner of the family. On August 5, Atiqa had sent
him to run an errand to the market in Maisuma but did not return. Instead,
somewhere between his home and the market, Faisal was picked up by police.“He
went out to buy medicine for me but was picked up Central reserve Police Force
on the way,” she says.Her son has been booked under the draconian Public Safety
Act. Faisal Aslam Mir, 30, runs a business. According to his mother, he was
detained for three days at a local police station and then shifted to the
Srinagar Central Jail until August 21, after which he was moved to a jail in
Agra in Uttar Pradesh.“I am only alive for my son. Otherwise, I have no other
reason to live,” she says, with tears in her eyes. A few kilometers from the
Southern Pulwama town, Sara Bano, in her late 40s,
is inconsolable. “I am unable to bear your separation please come back. I am
dying inside. I tell no one but I cry silently behind haystacks in the field,
in the bathroom and in your room,” she wails. Fayaz, 26, was among hundreds
slapped with the PSA and shifted to Bareilly in UP after he was charged for
‘stone-pelting’, as per his dossier. Fayaz was in the middle of his completing
his PhD in Arabic, having completed his Master’s from the University of
Kashmir. According to Sara Bano, Fayaz was falsely framed under prior charges
and was “just keeping himself busy with a tractor — which was his part-time
job”. It has been six months, and she has not only been able to visit her son
even once. “Since the past six months, our son has not able to work or study.
And as a result of him being jailed, our financial condition has worsened,” she
adds. Rubeena, 45, remembers the last glimpse of her son
before he was taken away by the Army from home in Karimabad area of Pulwama. “I
only had half a glimpse of his face. I remember that from fear, his face had
turned dark. That face still swims in front of my eyes,” she says. She tried to
run after him but was scared away by the Army personnel. “They fired a few
bullets at the door. I was scared. They took him away,” she says. Rubeena’s
financial conditions did not permit her to meet him, “I am poor and cannot
afford to travel outside,” she says, adding “all my savings have been
exhausted.. Since the past four days, Rubeena has been running from pillar to
post to gather money for her visit to her son. “My cow is sick and I don’t have
money to even buy medicine for her. Only god’s name is with me,” she says. She
believes her son was picked up by the Army for keeping long hair. “His hair was
cut with a knife. How would have his hair harmed them?” she says, adding “He is
innocent. What will government achieve by arresting him”. Jana, 75, says
that she has no option but to only wait for the return of her son. “Even if I
wish to meet him in jail, my health will not allow me to do so. I have problems
in my back and knees,” she says. Gulshan, 70, is suffering from multiple
ailments which prevent her from moving outside, “I have not seen my son in the
last six months. I have problems in my back and knees and cannot travel long
distances,” she says.In the absence of her son, she says, she is dying inside
and often cries when she is alone. “I have no other option but to seek help
from the god. I cry whenever I miss him. Why is government snatching our sons
from us. Don’t they know how important a son for a family,” she says. Gulshan
says she does not know what to tell her 5-year old granddaughter who wants to
know where her father is. “I have no answers for her. And I am sure the
government has no answers either,” she says. The other thing that is keeping
her away from meeting her son is her family’s economic condition. “A visit
costs Rs 10,000-20,000. Where will I be able gather so much money from? He was
the only source of income for the family,” she says. All the mothers have
requested government to release their sons immediately as they are old and
infirm and not in a condition to travel long distances, just to catch one
glimpse of them. https://www.newsclick.in/Kashmir-Missing-Youth-Mothers-Article-370
Missing
persons: Feb., 18, 2020: Kashmiri mothers are still awaiting the
return of their kids...When most parts of the world celebrate Mother’s Day,
thousands of Kashmiri women continue to wait for the return of their sons
subjected to disappearance in custody by Indian troops in Indian Occupied
Kashmir over the past 30 years. Their resistance persists. One such story is of
Parveena
Ahangar, the mother of Javeid. Javeid was 16 when Indian security
agents arrested him in August of 1990. She has not seen him since. Parveena
does not know why her son was arrested, or even whether he is alive. In her
grief, she started a group called the Association of Parents of Disappeared
Persons (APDP) more than 10 years ago. Since then she has filled a thick green
folder with hundreds of letters and sun-faded photographs from families with
husbands and sons who have vanished. Women in Kashmir have suffered immensely
as the conflict in the region continues.Many has lost their husbands, sons, or
fathers. There are also around 2,500 "half-widows" who remain
unaware of their husbands' whereabouts. For Parveena and thousands
of other Kashmiris who have lost family members in this conflict, the politics
is irrelevant. For them, there is only the one recurring question: Where is my
son?
Kashmiri Women: Feb., 24, 2020: The miseries and victimization of
Kashmiri women by the Indian troops and police personnel continue unabated in
occupied Kashmir. According to a report released by the Research Section of
Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of the Kashmiri Women’s Resistance Day,
today, revealed that at least 671 women have been martyred
by Indian troops since January 2001 till date. The report pointed out that since January 1989;
the unabated Indian state terrorism rendered 22,911 women widowed while Indian
forces’ personnel have molested 11,178 women. The
report said that thousands of women lost their sons, husbands, fathers and
brothers in the occupied territory who were subjected to custodial
disappearance by Indian Army, police and paramilitary personnel. The
report said that several women including Hurriyat leaders, Aasiya Andrabi,
Fehmeeda Sofi and Naheeda Nasreen were facing illegal detention. They are being
victimized only for the reason that they represent the Kashmiri people’s aspirations. https://kmsnews.org/news/2020/02/23/thousands-of-women-martyred-molested-in-iok-since-jan-1989/
LoC Violation: Apr., 28, 2020: Pakistan on Monday summoned the
head of Indian High Commission in Islamabad to lodge a strong protest
over the latest ceasefire violations by Indian troops along the Line of control
(LoC), leaving a woman martyred and eight-year old inured. The
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Indian troops initiated unprovoked
ceasefire violations in Jandrot and Khuiratta sectors along LoC deliberately
targeting civilian population on Monday morning. “Due to indiscriminate fire of
automatics and rockets, a 36 years old woman, Yasmeen, resident of village Red embraced shahadat
[martyrdom] while an 8 years old innocent girl, Adeeba Zaheer,
resident of village Mohra Chattar sustained serious injuries. [The] injured
child has been evacuated and being provided with medical care,” the military’s
media wing said. “The Indian occupation forces this year, India has committed 882 ceasefire
violations,” according to the FO. . https://tribune.com.pk/story/2208281/1-pakistan-summons-indian-diplomat-lodge-protest-ceasefire-violation-along-loc/
Women and Kashmir: Apr., 29, 2020: Participants of
COVID-19 Kashmir Women’s Conference have said that India is using COVID-19
pandemic as a cover to continue its brutal attacks on the Kashmiri people while
Kashmiri women are bearing the brunt of New Delhi’s unlawful occupation of the
territory.The conference was organized by Kashmir Women’s Movement (KWM) and
Organisation of Kashmir Coalition (OKC) via video link, and it was attended by
politicians, lawyers, human rights defenders, academics and jurists. A joint
statement issued on the occasion said that Kashmiri women and girls were
bearing the brunt of the India’s unlawful occupation in spite of the UN
Secretary General’s call for a ceasefire. The participants maintained that as
the world was engaged in containing the spread of the pandemic, India continued
its attacks against the innocent people of Kashmir in breach of International
Law. The joint statement says: “The women of Kashmir
need international solidarity in order to protect their basic rights. Women of
Kashmir have grown up knowing too much, too fast about conflict, trauma, bombs
and violence including rape and sexual torture. Whilst international actors
call for equality many of the women and girls are left behind without a voice.
Thousands of Kashmiri women have been widowed in this conflict while over
20,000 are wives of the forcibly disappeared who we call half widows.” “In
recent months many Kashmiri women have been detained in prison and several have
been killed. The poverty, powerless, ill health, physical and psychological of
these exposes them to great danger so they become infected with Covid-19.
Whilst the lives of the de facto widows are wretched enough, those of the
half-widows are even worse but all of them continue struggle against societal
discrimination, poverty, marginalisation, abuse and violence. Not only have
these women been subjected to violence by police but also by the occupation
forces.”“The half widows suffer, as they have no closure to their grief as they
continue to experience identity crisis from the uncertainty of whether they are
married or not. This struggle reveals a cultural gap in Kashmir where the needs
of women and the issue of their equality continue to go unrecognised. They have
no rights to social security, pensions, inheritance, and land nor can they
re-marry. They face harassment and violence from the police when they seek
information from the police. India is signatory to the International Convention
for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance “Therefore, India
is under international obligation to trace the disappeared. It must fulfill its
obligations under international law. Article 1 of ICCPED places a non-derogable
prohibition against enforced disappearances and applies even in a state of war
and public emergency. India cannot invoke such grounds as a justification for
these actions.”“Women of Kashmir and their sympathisers around the world shall
undertake all possible measures to maintain the Jammu and Kashmir conflict at
the highest level of the international agenda.” “During the ongoing eight and half-month long
military siege, annexation of and lockdown in IOJK imposed, since 5th August
2019, nearly half a dozen women leaders including Aasiya Andrabi, Fehmeeda Sofi
and Naheeda Nasreen have been arrested and detained at Tihar jail, New Delhi.” “We
demand their immediate release along with Saima Iqra and Insha Tariq, Hina
Bashir Beig, Masrat Zahra among others.”“Post 5th August 2019, Indian troops have
killed, according to media reports, nearly a hundred Kashmiris including three
women Fehmeeda Bano, Shahzada Akhtar and Ulfat Altaf. The killing of Kashmiri
women must stop immediately.” “We urge the European Union via its external
action service (EAS) that any trade talks with India should be mindful that
human rights and trade are two sides of the same coin. We further urge that the
EU actively uses the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as a
substantive normative legal framework which obliges transnational companies and
or other types of business enterprises to comply under international law with a
view to foster accountability and transparency of all businesses thus upholding
compliance while safeguarding Human Rights. “ “It is greatly concerning that
India attempts to keep prisoners in confinement and bring about a planned
demographic change, as the occupying power, should be thwarted and discussed in
any upcoming trade talks for this amounts to ethnic cleansing and is prohibited
under international and humanitarian law.” “We implore the UK government and
members of both Houses of Parliament to use all available means, diplomatic and
economic, to ensure a resolution of this long pending conflict. Also to engage
the Commonwealth in negotiation to ensure India complies with human rights and
humanitarian law.”“We plead with UN WOMEN (CEDAW) and the Human Rights Council
to address the extreme discrimination of Kashmiri women and girls especially in
the context of Covid-19.”“We urge the Organization of Islamic Co-operation
(OIC) to take a more prominent lead in promoting greater engagement in order to
protect all the human rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and help in
resolving the conflict.”“We urge the Indian government to allow international
organisations to examine the prison conditions under which the detained
Kashmiri leaders and other political prisoners are held, to commence dialogue
with a view to achieve the release of all who are incarcerated simply because
they demand the right to self-determination.”“We urge the Indian government to
restore complete Internet services including 4G particularly during this
pandemic to enable all health practitioners to access and download latest
medical guidelines, conduct online medical video consultation and conferencing
to share best practice, and help access and share vital information about how
best to treat those affected by the Covid-19 virus.”“We urge India, Pakistan
and Jammu and Kashmir to begin direct tri-partite negotiations at a neutral
destination, for example Geneva, within the next 12 months with a complete
commitment (together with adequate representation of women on the delegation in
compliance of UN Security Council Resolution 1325) to resolve the Jammu and
Kashmir issue pursuant to the United Nations resolutions.”Among others who
participated in the conference included: Federal Minister Dr Shireen Mazari,
member of Organisation of Kashmir Coalition (OKC), Barrister Abdul Majeed
Tramboo, IMWU Representative Shamim Shawl, British politician Julie Ward,
Barrister Margaret Owen, Claire Bidwell, Soraya Boyd, Maxine Bowler, Beatrice
Grace Alouch Obado, Cecilia Maho, Asma Rathore and Frank Schwalba-Hoth. https://kmsnews.org/news/2020/04/28/iok-women-bearing-brunt-of-indias-illegal-occupation-speakers/
Kunan
Poshspora mass rape: The
Kunan Poshspora incident
occurred on February 23, 1991, when unit(s) of the Indian army launched a search and interrogation operation
in the twin villages of Kunan and Poshpora, located in Kashmir's remote Kupwara District. It is reported that at least 100 women were gang raped by soldiers
that night. However,
human rights organizations including Human Rights Watchhave said that the number of
raped women could be as high as 150 Although the Indian government′s
investigations into the incident rejected the allegations as "baseless international human rights organizations have
expressed serious doubts about the integrity of these investigations and the
manner in which they were conducted, stating that the Indian government
launched a "campaign to acquit the army of charges of human rights
violations and discredit those who brought the charges An unspecified number of soldiers of the 4th Rajputana Rifles
cordoned off the entire village in the name of conducting a “search operation”.
All the men were asked to come out of their homes, and were taken away to
another location for interrogation. Once the men were taken away, soldiers went inside every house, raped and
abused women through the night. The victims of this mass rape ranged in age
from 13 to 80 years
Durri’s Story
The
Knock on Durri’s Door
My sister and I hugged the kangri even closer.
We were scared of that
knocking. It seemed someone wanted to break down the door of our house.
My grandfather quickly got up and opened the door. I heard few words
“Kitnai admi ho ghar mai” (how many men are you in the house). “Koi
nahi sahib bas mai hun” (no one, just me). I tried to stand up. I was
stopped by someone. It was Amina, she held my hand tight. As I turned
towards her, I could see the disapproval on her face. Now I tried to hear
more clearly. I noticed Amina and Fatimah were doing the same. In middle
of all this I could hear a female voice. My mother was pleading with
someone. Suddenly ‘toth’ screamed “Haa Khudayo” (Oh God!). Within
no time an army soldier appeared infront of us. I could smell something
awful from him and then I saw that he had a bottle of alcohol in his hand.
My throat was dry. I could not even scream. I could not even stand, it
was as if the earth had gripped me. My sister Fatimah and Amina held
me tight from both sides. I could feel their fingers digging into my arms.
From one the soldiers became six as others joined the first one. I wanted to
scream. I could not hear my grandfather speak. I didn’t know where they
took my mother. One of them gripped my hair. I held his feet. I remember
begging him, “khuda kai liyai humai chhod do, hum nai kuch nahi kiya’
(for god’s sake please leave us, we are innocent). I even bowed my forehead
onto his shoes. He dragged me to kitchen. My mother was already there.
I screamed with all my energy, “Mouji meh bachaay tii” (mother, save
me). How could she, I don’t want to share all that I saw and remember
happening to her. My pheran was torn and with that my whole life.
knocking. It seemed someone wanted to break down the door of our house.
My grandfather quickly got up and opened the door. I heard few words
“Kitnai admi ho ghar mai” (how many men are you in the house). “Koi
nahi sahib bas mai hun” (no one, just me). I tried to stand up. I was
stopped by someone. It was Amina, she held my hand tight. As I turned
towards her, I could see the disapproval on her face. Now I tried to hear
more clearly. I noticed Amina and Fatimah were doing the same. In middle
of all this I could hear a female voice. My mother was pleading with
someone. Suddenly ‘toth’ screamed “Haa Khudayo” (Oh God!). Within
no time an army soldier appeared infront of us. I could smell something
awful from him and then I saw that he had a bottle of alcohol in his hand.
My throat was dry. I could not even scream. I could not even stand, it
was as if the earth had gripped me. My sister Fatimah and Amina held
me tight from both sides. I could feel their fingers digging into my arms.
From one the soldiers became six as others joined the first one. I wanted to
scream. I could not hear my grandfather speak. I didn’t know where they
took my mother. One of them gripped my hair. I held his feet. I remember
begging him, “khuda kai liyai humai chhod do, hum nai kuch nahi kiya’
(for god’s sake please leave us, we are innocent). I even bowed my forehead
onto his shoes. He dragged me to kitchen. My mother was already there.
I screamed with all my energy, “Mouji meh bachaay tii” (mother, save
me). How could she, I don’t want to share all that I saw and remember
happening to her. My pheran was torn and with that my whole life.
When I regained consciousness, my head was blank and I
felt numb.
My face was wet. I realized I was weeping. I was naked, not just my body
but my soul. My mother was in that room with me. She was unconscious or
pretending to be. She had turned her face away from me. I heard someone
crying. It was my brother, he covered me with something. I don’t remember
clearly what it was. I haven’t asked him till now. We never spoke about
that night again. But I remember I could not feel my lower body.
My face was wet. I realized I was weeping. I was naked, not just my body
but my soul. My mother was in that room with me. She was unconscious or
pretending to be. She had turned her face away from me. I heard someone
crying. It was my brother, he covered me with something. I don’t remember
clearly what it was. I haven’t asked him till now. We never spoke about
that night again. But I remember I could not feel my lower body.
That one night has become my life. No matter what I do,
where I go or
what I think. That night never leaves me. It’s with me all the time, when
I pray, when I cook, when I clean myself. I curse them (the army) all the
time and will curse them all my life. People console me. They say you must
forget and move on. But that’s easier said than done. It’s difficult; it’s like
losing your eyes and believing you never had them.
what I think. That night never leaves me. It’s with me all the time, when
I pray, when I cook, when I clean myself. I curse them (the army) all the
time and will curse them all my life. People console me. They say you must
forget and move on. But that’s easier said than done. It’s difficult; it’s like
losing your eyes and believing you never had them.
I did not give a statement to police. My family feared
no one would
marry me. I never married. It’s not that I don’t want to but my health does
not allow me. I am not fit to marry. I don’t want to ruin someone’s life.
Besides when I saw how girls from my village were being treated by their
in-laws, I chose not to marry. We never spoke to anyone about my friend
Amina being raped. When we met after that night, we cried and cried. We
are still friends but we have an unspoken rule — never speak about that
night. I am a rape survivor from Kunan and Poshpora — I am breathing
but not alive.
marry me. I never married. It’s not that I don’t want to but my health does
not allow me. I am not fit to marry. I don’t want to ruin someone’s life.
Besides when I saw how girls from my village were being treated by their
in-laws, I chose not to marry. We never spoke to anyone about my friend
Amina being raped. When we met after that night, we cried and cried. We
are still friends but we have an unspoken rule — never speak about that
night. I am a rape survivor from Kunan and Poshpora — I am breathing
but not alive.
