Srinagar, September 24 . 2018 : Women speakers have said huge militarization has destructed families in Kashmir and entire society has moved to insecure and vulnerable situations where women get confined to their homes.
Speakers at a programme ‘Baatein Aman Ki’ at Institute of Hotel Management in Srinagar said that the ongoing conflict has also impacted the lives of womenfolk in Kashmir. They said women need to own their history by empowering themselves with education and begin the reformation of society.
They urged the stakeholders to come forward and held women to achieve their respected spaces in the society. They said that empowering women during crisis and conflict was vital.
The programme was organsied by ANHAD, Kashmir Women’s Collective, ELFA International, Convex Infra, and Mehboob Arts.
Assistant Professor, Department of Women Studies, University of Kashmir, Dr Shazia Malik, said that womenfolk need to own their history by empowering themselves with education and begin to revolutionize the whole society. She said during past few decades, there has been a tremendous increase in domestic violence incidents in the Kashmir.
Another speaker, Farah Zaidi said that women have to take charge and empower themselves and they don’t wait for someone else to do it for them. They have a can-do mindset and habits that move them forward even in the face of adversity, she said.
Political unrest and conflict in Jammu and Kashmir have often pushed other social issues on to the sidelines. Kashmiri women have for decades grappled with gender inequality and the lack of female voices in public and political spheres.
“I’ll point out a few faces [of gender inequality] – political oppression, psycho-social humiliation, domestic exploitation, indignity, internalization,” Kashmiri student Samia Mehraj said.
“Last year, I conducted an event on dynamics of gender in Kashmir and repeatedly heard people [looking to shut down voices speaking against domestic violence] say that oppression is the highest form of patriarchy and we can’t talk about domestic violence until we are oppressed,” she said.
“In homes, men are the obvious victims of conflict, men are on the streets, men issue hartals [shutdowns], men get to decide what azaadi [freedom] is for Kashmir, men talk and refuse to talk to New Delhi, men are the prominent victims of armed aggression. Women are considered to be at the back of it, the sister, mother, and wife of the victims,” Mehraj said.
Kashmiri women, however, have steadfastly faced and resisted occupation.
“Historically, Kashmiri women have always been part of public life in some measure,” political anthropologist Ather Zia said. “Most of them, especially the working-class women, have been economically productive as well but it was not a source of political or intellectual emancipation. They held their ground in private life while men firmly held the public and cultural life.
“Currently, Kashmir faces the challenge of Indian military occupation, which is responsible for massive human-rights violations including sexual violence that includes mass rapes committed by the Indian government’s forces. On the other hand, militarization has skewed the local gender dynamics, since it is proven that state terror only exacerbates the social surveillance on women, examples of which we see happen from time to time,” Zia said.
“Kashmiri women have made vast strides in the field of education and other professions but it has not yielded [many] results in male-dominated fields like politics, sports, engineering. Even though there are women in these fields, the overall progress is slow,” she said.
Journalist Arshie Qureshi said: “Public spaces [in Kashmir] are often dominated by men only, in seminars, in discussions, in administrative roles. The notion of gender equality is a far-fetched concept in Kashmir. Just because women are attending colleges and universities does not wash away the inequality. It is deeply ingrained in how daughters are given limited choices of careers, to finding their suitable matches for marriage.”
There is also the need address women’s issues without homogenizing them. “With the mainstream discourse on gender in Kashmir revolving only around militarization, it becomes extremely important to understand the underlying facets of women’s voices, concerns, stories, and struggles,” student Mariyeh Mushtaq said.
“Kashmiri society is deeply ridden with patriarchal norms, perpetuated by both the political and social structures. I strongly feel that in order to tackle this, there needs to develop a clear understanding of the inter-sectional nature of oppression on women in Kashmir. Homogenization of women’s issues puts women from marginal castes, classes, regions etc at aa disadvantage, and that needs to be taken into account,” Mushtaq said.
Important female voices in the public space are often disregarded, sometimes to the extent of their contributions to the Kashmiri society being negated.
“A female protester [or] photographer is humiliated beyond belief. Good work, or a cry for help is thought to be a publicity stunt. All the humiliation is again a tool to pull women back,” Mehraj said.
“I think it goes without saying that women’s voices and participation in public life are limited, and at the very best in the scant spaces left by men. Male-dominated spaces, both physical and abstract, have always made it difficult for women to have their voices heard.… Male domination/occupation over/of interpretations, institutions, and even physical spaces leaves little for the women to be seen or heard,” Kashmir Youth Arts Initiative co-founder Essar Batool said.
“In Kashmir, where the narrative of there being no issues on the gender front is often pushed, the truth is that it’s the traditional gender roles that are pushed as normal. Anything that challenges this narrative is seen as a digression, as an unwanted, deliberate conspiracy.
“The same is the case with feminism. It is seen as a diversion to distract from occupation. It’s a challenge in Kashmir in the sense that gender equality is not seen as an issue that needs immediate resolution. Battling a militarized occupation often pushes issues like gender to be trivialized and put back,” Batool said.
Qureshi said: “In homes, in public transportation and in employment, women suffer in ways that the men do not. Kashmir’s demand for their right to self-determination will remain incomplete without the right of women to be able to secure in their identity. This involves, also, recognition of our identity and proactive role.”
For Kashmiri women, the fight is not just to create a space where they are equal participants, but also to decide what the future entails for them. “While change cannot be stanched, women’s progress in fields such as politics will be slow unless the challenge of garnering a political solution for Kashmir becomes a reality,” Zia said.
Manjusha Nayan , a Delhi-based lawyer and a women’s rights activist said women which her group interacted with during their present visited complained of suffering due to the prevailing situation.
“Our group today visited Tanghdar Kupwara and far flung areas to meet and understand people. The environment here is that of a deep-rooted conflict,” Nayan said, adding women have the responsibility to carry further message of peace.
“Women are worst hit and deprived of basic rights irrespective of where they are from. Many women in northern Kashmir told us that they are living in fear and even their education is badly hit by the prevailing situation.”
Kanwaljit Kaur Dhilon, member of National Executive Council, National Federation of Indian Women said discrimination against women needs to be overcome at any cost, and highlighted women visiting police stations to register cases of violence and facing utmost discrimination was an example of suppression of women.
Dr Nisha Agarwal, an economist and former CEO Oxfam India said the situation of women in Kashmir was disturbing and the trauma they are going through was compounded by happenings across the Valley and rest of the state.
“We are here to learn about Kashmir as there are lots of misperceptions about the Valley created by media mostly. We met civil society members in Kashmir during our tour and we see so much of hatred about national media. We feel they are not portraying hatred and must play a positive role,” Agarwal said.
Dr Mubeena Ramzan who runs women rights organisations said she traveled extensively across the valley for women’s rights and ensure that women suffering from domestic violence are provided “a vent”.
“There are also many problems and sufferings among women due to militarisation which has a negative impact on women. Our group is mostly focusing on women suffering from domestic violence,” Ramzan said.
Mantasha Binti Rashid of Kashmir Women’s Collective also spoke at the event, saying women-led initiatives were the need of the hour for ending all sorts of violence being faced by them here.
“Let women drive the momentum and the initiatives to end violence whether it is due to the ongoing situation and politics or domestic violence,” Rashid said.
A team of 20 social activists from India were also present on the occasion, who are Kashmir visit from 21-24 September.
Assistant Professor, Department of English, Government Degree College, Baramulla of Dr. Asiya Zahoor was also screened on the occasion. The documentary reflected the miseries of children in conflict and how conflict is affecting their daily lives. Among others, Advocate Manju Shah, Dr. Mubeena Ramzan, Anushree (transgender activist from Tamil Nadu also spoke on the occasion. Agencies