Militancy
Toll; J&K Women
Pay Heavy Price
By Syed Junaid Hashmi
27 March, 2007
Countercurrents.org
JAMMU, Mar 27: She
was raped, humiliated, tortured, illegally detained, threatened at gun
point and molested. No one heard her cries and even today, few heads
roll, when her rights are desecrated. She continues to face the consequences
for giving birth to young people who resorted to guns without seeking
permission from her.
Seventeen years of turmoil
has not only ruined Jammu Kashmir economically but has turned the state
in to a land of widows and orphans. Various human rights organizations
put the figure of orphans at twenty-five thousand and that of widows
around six thousand. Various organizations contradict the figure and
say that it may be more.
These poverty struck women
have nothing to feed their children. A number of insecurities hunt them
in the absence of their husband. Their husbands went missing and they
could not even wail over their missing husbands. Their children were
killed in front of their eyes and yet they are doing rounds of the government
offices to prove that their children were killed in cold blood.
The young widows and teenaged
orphan girls are facing more problems due to their youth as they are
always at danger of getting molested or raped. It is matter of concern
that most of the married women face the problem of miscarriages, which
is one of the fastest growing problem in the rural and border areas
of state. Reasons could be many but with health department virtually
unaware of this new problem, speculating anything might be problematical.
Amidst this scenario, women
empowerment should have assumed highest significance. Unfortunately,
persistent political uncertainty in the state has miserably failed in
addressing this area of paramount significance.
It is important to mention
here that 10 years have passed since the democratic process began in
Jammu and Kashmir but rape of women, disappearance, illegal detention,
threatening at gun point, molestation, and shocking raids by security
forces and by unknown gunmen have been day to day phenomena in Kashmir
valley and in various parts of Jammu province especially in border areas.
To cite some examples, in
the year 1991, Indian army raped 30 women in Kunan- Poshpura in Kupwara
aged between 18 to 85 years. 15 years have passed since the incident
took place; neither justice nor compensation has knocked at the doors
of these unfortunate mothers and daughters. While separatists address
their plight by stating that they have lost their honour for a greater
cause, state government orders an inquiry which remains inconclusive
and guilty get rewards for having fought militancy tooth and nail.
To add salt to the wounds,
legislators in the recently concluded budget session debated human rights
violations threadbare forcing the state government to order judicial
probe into all the cases of human rights violations but none bothered
to speak a few words about the cases of human rights violations involving
women. A bill for giving reservation to women is doing rounds of all
the political circles in the country, but a castigatory law for empowering
the female folk of the country is not even being talked about.
Scholars and intellectuals
across the state are of the view that if government made laws like POTA,
TADA and AFSPA for fighting militancy, why is it reluctant to design
laws on the same pattern for the female folk living in violence hit
areas. They further say that few could empower women unless they themselves
decide to get empowered.
"It is highly unfortunate
that the approach continues to be parochial. Both the Central and State
government must realize the importance of giving a healing touch to
female folk of Jammu and Kashmir," said a Jammu university scholar
Vivyeta Sharma.
She added that it is horrendous
to speak of the trauma that women in Jammu and Kashmir have faced during
the last seventeen years. "Honest efforts to empower women have
never been made. Law makers must make provisions which could lessen
the vulnerability of females living in violence hit areas," added
Vivyeta.
Not only Vivyeta, many other
scholars stressed for making laws which could empower women in Jammu
and Kashmir and save her honour even when the situation is adverse.
"Our female legislators should have brought some kind of legislation
which could give extraordinary powers to the courts to decide cases
of molestation, rape, illegal detention and threat perception to women
within days of the occurrence of the incident, but unfortunately, they
have failed in doing their duty," said Niharika, another Scholar.
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