War on Women: Women Rights Violations in IIOJK
Introduction
Despite 2024 passing with little to no implementation on the theme of women’s day “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress”, especially in conflict zones. The theme of women’s day this year is “Accelerate Action.” Should we allow the same to happen this year?
International Women’s Day is observed to acknowledge the active role of women in development, as well as steps toward a more sustainable society and a peaceful world. However, in conflict zones, this concept takes on a grim reality. Women in conflict zones face extreme vulnerability, with sexual violence systematically used as a weapon of war, limited access to education, healthcare facilities are a liability, and loss of a male family member is a devastation beyond imagination.
The denial of rights in Kashmir traces back to the Sikh Empire, trailed by British rule, and its subsequent sale to Gulab Singh; for nearly a century, the people of Kashmir lived under barbaric Dogra rule. Post-partition, Kashmiris suffered more oppression, a struggle that continues under Modi’s draconian policies, which systematically strip them of fundamental rights. Indian forces deliberately disrespect international treaties such as “The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women” and “International Labor Organization Convention No. 190 on Violence and Harassment” when they differentiate and violate the rights of women in Kashmir. This report aims to critically examine the ongoing violations of women’s rights in Kashmir and the urgent need for international intervention.
The Daily Struggles of Kashmiri Women
Women play an important role in Kashmir’s complex sociopolitical environment, especially under the ongoing Indian occupation. Various socioeconomic, historical, religious, and geopolitical factors, along with the heavy militarization of the region, deeply affect the lives of Kashmiri women. The constant presence of Indian armed forces, curfews, and strict security measures severely impact their daily lives, safety, freedom, and mobility. When a male family member is abducted, a woman bears the entire burden of the household, and a lack of education in rural areas makes Kashmiri women unskilled labor, making it extremely difficult for her to live her life normally in this situation.
Women are naturally more emotional, sensitive, and sentimental than men. These characteristics qualify her to be a mother, sister, and wife; however, she is less tolerant of violence and has a different emotional intelligence. These characteristics put women involved in conflict at a higher risk. According to a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) survey, 45 percent of Kashmiris reported having a mental illness. According to MSF’s “Kashmir Mental Health Survey 2015,” women had higher rates of depression than men (50 percent versus 37 percent), probable anxiety disorder (36 percent versus 21 percent), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (22 percent versus 18 percent).
Human Rights Watch issued a comprehensive report on the topic “Rape in Kashmir: A Crime of War,” detailing how Indian forces use rape to marginalize women and spread terror throughout the community. The icing on the cake is that few of the rapes were ever investigated by authorities, despite evidence that Indian army and paramilitary forces were engaged in widespread rapes. The security forces involved were not criminally charged for the incidents that were reported. According to the Kashmir Media Service, between January 1989 and December 2022, 11,256 women were gang-raped or molested in IIOJK, 22,954 were killed, and approximately 7,282 were killed in custody.
State-Sanctioned Oppression under Modi’s rule
RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) is a Hindutva-oriented organization that advocates for the establishment of Hindu Rashtra (Nation) in India. If we look at the map of India on the official RSS website, we can see that it includes IIOJK and is in black and white. The reason for this is that Kashmir is the only Muslim-majority region on the map, and Modi cannot sell his pro-Hindu election rhetoric with a green state on the Indian map.
It is now clear that Modi intends to change the region’s demographics and make it a Hindu majority region, but how he will accomplish this is unclear. One way is to allow Hindus from all over India to come to Kashmir and settle there until the Hindu population outnumbers the Muslim population, but this is a long process that could take decades or even centuries. Modi is power-hungry and has done many pro-Hindu things to attract Hindu voters, such as inauguration of the Ram Mandir just before the elections to demonstrate to RSS and Hindutva supporters that he is the right candidate. The other option is a two-way process: import Hindus and export Muslims. It looks like Modi is following the second option and is very brutal on Muslims in IIOJK. There is a special focus on Kashmiri women and young boys in this regard.
There is a question as to why women are becoming the victims of Indian forces’ wrath when it is men who are putting up a fight against their illegal activities. India aims to disrupt the valley’s social fabric by attacking women. Mothers are the custodians of faith and independence stories. Illegally occupied forces are trying to instill fear in the minds of Kashmiris by dishonoring families; they seek to crush the struggle for independence by psychologically weakening the struggle for self-determination.
The Impact of Revocation of Article 370 and 35A on Kashmiri Women
Since the repeal of Article 370 and the removal of Article 35A on August 5, 2019, the BJP and other Hindu extremists have expanded their evil plans to target the Kashmiriyat in IIOJK.
In 1927, special rights related to land, property, and jobs were granted to Kashmiris to safeguard their interests and prevent non-Kashmiris from dominating the region’s administration. However, in 2019, the Indian government repealed the article, presenting it as a move for women’s rights. The article had imposed restrictions on women, stating that if a Kashmiri woman married a non-Kashmiri, she would lose her property rights in Kashmir. While Modi justified the removal as being in the best interests of Kashmiri women, it is now evident that the primary objective was to facilitate the settlement of non-Kashmiris in the region rather than protect women’s rights. According to Kashmir Media Service, since August 5, 2019, 134 women have been gang-raped or molested, and 73 more have been widowed, indicating that these violations intensified following the revocation of Article 370 and 35A.
The weight of waiting: The suspended lives of Half-Widows between hope and despair
The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), a reputable NGO founded in 1994, reports that over 8000 Kashmiris have been disappeared by Indian army forces in the past 24 years. Between 1989 and 2016, Indian forces were responsible for 10,717 documented cases of gang rape against women, particularly half widows. The Indian army frequently raids the homes of freedom fighters, claiming they need to question their sons before disappearing. Furthermore, Indian armed forces abduct people from their workplaces.
Half widows in rural IIOJK face social, economic, and emotional challenges, including the inability to own property, receive compensation, or remarry. This vulnerability causes deprivation in socioeconomically disadvantaged families. Half-widows are unable to obtain relief such as ration cards, property transfers, or bank accounts due to a lack of death certificates and official recognition of their husbands’ deaths.
Widows lack social and educational skills, making them dependent on their husband’s family and not inheriting his property. When they are evicted, they go to their mothers’ homes for shelter. Half-widows and their children are viewed as a burden, as daughters do not typically live with their parents after marriage.
Bodies as Battlefields, Case Studies
- On the afternoon of January 10th, 2018, Asifa Bano, an eight-year-old girl, went to the forest to bring home the horses. Although the horses returned, she didn’t. Her father, along with other members of his tribe, searched for Asifa deep into the forest, but she was nowhere to be found. Two days later, they filed a police complaint, but the police were not helpful, according to Muhammad Yusuf Pujwala, Asifa’s father. On 17th January, one of the neighbors of Mr. Pujwala came running towards him and broke the news that they had found Asifa’s body in the forest, a few hundred meters away.
According to her mother, Naseema Bibi, Asifa’s body was tortured, her legs broken, and there were blue and red marks on her arms and fingers. After this tragic incident, protests erupted in the region, and an investigation was initiated. According to the investigators, a 60-year-old retired government officer planned the crime with four Hindu police officers. Moreover, they also believed that Mr. Ram’s son, Vishal, his nephew, a juvenile, and his friend, Parvesh Kumar, were also involved in the rape and murder. When government officials and the police are involved in such shocking atrocities, whom should the Kashmiris turn to for security and protection?
The suffering caused by this incident is far from over. Mr. Pujwala and his tribe, the Gujjars, wanted to bury Asifa in a graveyard where they had purchased some land a few years earlier. Although they had already buried five people in that graveyard, when they tried to bury Asifa there, they were surrounded by Hindu right-wing activists who refused to allow Asifa to be buried there and threatened them with serious consequences. Mr. Pujwala said that they had to walk seven miles to bury his daughter in another village.
- The Kunan Poshpora incident that happened in the twin villages of Kunan and Poshpora on 23rd February 1991 cannot be forgotten. It was a cold winter night when the soldiers of Indian army raided these villages in the name of a search operation. The men of the village were taken out and interrogated in the biting cold. The soldiers entered every house in the village and violently raped every female in their way. The number of victims is almost 100, the youngest being a 13-year-old girl and the eldest an 80-year-old woman.
After the incident, the people raised their voice against this tragic mass rape and an investigation was initiated, but the Indian government and army denied the accusations and declared that no sufficient evidence was found regarding the mass rape. However, the United States Department of State reported in 1992 that there was ‘credible evidence’ that supports the mass rape allegations against the Indian army.
Long after the incident, in 2013, a group of 50 women petitioned the Supreme Court of India to re-open the investigations. In 2016, five Kashmiri women co-authored the book “Do You Remember Kunan Poshpora?” in which they provided a detailed account of the heartbreaking incident. Since then, many of the victims have passed away, and with them, their stories have died too. Today, after 34 years, the Kashmiri women are still looking for justice.
- Two young women, Asiya, 17, and her sister-in-law, Nellofer, 22, were found dead near a stream in Shopian Village of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on May 30, 2009. The two women had gone to their small orchard across the river to work but did not return. Their family, along with other people, searched for them and then reported to the police. Ahanger, who is Nellofar’s husband, Asiya’s brother, and a police party searched the entire area but found nothing.
The next day, Nellofar’s body appeared near the stream, right beside a high-security Central Reserve Police Force camp, seemingly out of nowhere. Yet, no one knew who had placed her there. Several hours later, Ahanger’s sister’s body was discovered downstream. A three-member team of doctors who conducted the autopsies of the dead bodies confirmed that the victims had been raped. The same thing was confirmed by a report issued by the Forensic Science Lab in Srinagar.
However, the police, local administration, and even the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in India rejected these findings and concluded that the women had died by drowning. Ahnager, whose life was changed completely in 24 hours, had fought for justice for years and got nothing but frustration.
International Response to Women Rights Violations in Kashmir
Other countries and international organizations have continuously reported and condemned the violence against women in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and repeatedly stated that the rights of women have been brutally violated in the region. However, no concrete practical steps have been taken by any entity to stop these violations.
The Office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued two reports on the state of human rights in IIOJK: the first was published on June 14, 2018, and the second was updated and published on July 8, 2019. According to the first report, India declined to monitor IIOJK’s human rights violations. Both reports mentioned the mass rape in Kunan-Poshpora as well as a slew of other human rights violations, including kidnappings, civilian killings, and sexual violence. They also highlighted the severe human rights violations against women in IIOJK. Similarly, human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented cases of rape, torture, and extrajudicial killings by Indian security forces and reported serious abuses against Kashmiri women. These organizations also called for international inquiries into these violations.
Moreover, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has repeatedly criticized India’s actions in IIOJK and called upon the international community to take action. Furthermore, the European Parliament and some US lawmakers have raised concerns about these violations; however, unlike their usual response, no major sanctions have been imposed on India.
Political and economic interests of the Global players have helped India to escape punishments for its heinous crimes in IIOJK. Like the rest of the humans, Kashmiris also have fundamental rights and freedoms just because they are humans and it is the responsibility of human rights organizations and the international community to raise their voice and protect these rights and freedoms of the oppressed Kashmiris.
Conclusion
The solution to the Kashmir issue is inevitable, and women will play an important role in independence. This is why Indians are using indigenous methods to subjugate the women of Kashmir. Every day, women in Kashmir face sexual abuse, enforced disappearances, economic hardship, and psychological trauma. Modi’s government and Indian forces use these tactics more broadly to put an end to Kashmir’s independence story. Indian forces now have the freedom and power to carry out their atrocities in the area because of the absence of accountability on both a local and global scale. International organizations and major international players discuss human rights while prioritizing their national interests. This blind eye is causing a generation of trauma, economic deprivation, and the suppression of fundamental human rights. A strong international response and pressure on Modi to grant Kashmiris the right to self-determination is urgently needed, or the reputation of international institutions will suffer.
This report is authored by Muhammad Abdullah Shah and Jahangeer Khan, who are interns at YFK and students of BS International Relations at IIUI.
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