Kashmiri Resistance and the Defiling of Women

By Momin Iftikhar

Come June and for the second year running, the Indian Held Kashmir is on the boil; much in the manner of the previous summer when the allocation of hundred acres of pristine Kashmiri land to a Hindu trust to permanently set up facilities for pilgrims undertaking Amar Nath Yatra, united the entire Kashmiri society in a prolonged spell of determined resistance. Over sixty Kashmiris lost their lives in the brutal Indian state response, then. This time round it is the rape of two Kashmiri women by the Indian security forces' personnel that has caused the wide scale anger to erupt and spill over the entire landscape of the Kashmir Valley.

17 Years' old Aasia Jan and her sister in law, Nilofer Shakeel, 22 had gone to work in their apple orchard in Shopian but failed to return. Their bodies were found floating in shallow waters of a stream on May 30. As the public anger grew and the accusatory fingers pointed towards the Indian security personnel camping close by, entire state machinery of the Indian Held Kashmir went into a denial mode. The puppet Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's initial remarks that there was no evidence of foul play and that the young women had drowned to death, only served to add fuel to the fire of public rage. A few days later he had to eat the humble pie as the autopsy results and forensic investigations confirmed that the two women had been murdered following rape, not drowned. By now the public anger, much in the manner of previous summer's outpouring, burst open onto the streets and the demand for 'Azadi' rang out emphatically all across the Kashmir Valley. Meaningfully, among the entire furor the Indian security forces, accused of having committed the crime, have maintained an eerie silence and have yet to respond to the charges leveled against them by a much enraged public demanding justice.

The two week long unrest has served to focus attention on the wide spread but rarely reported phenomenon concerning rape of women in the IHK by the Indian security forces and their auxiliaries- feared mercenaries recruited from among the surrendered militants now turned collaborators. How many such incidents happen has no empirical basis and the Indian Government has shown no inclination - for well known reasons - to dig out or face the truth. In Kashmir, much like rest of the women in Muslim societies , the stigma attached with rape is so vitriolic and debilitating that very few victims gather the courage to confront the perpetrators. Even in case of the current tragedy it was the crime of murder that ultimately served to bring out the act of rape in open; had the two women lived through the ordeal they might have chosen to remain silent rather than expose themselves to the stigma associated with rape.

The Kashmiri women might not be coming forwarded for reasons of shame and fear of ostracism but the sporadic emergence of reports in media does provide a glimpse of the scale of tragedy unfolding in Kashmir. According to data maintained by a media portal of United Kingdom nearly 500 women were raped in various parts of IHK between 1990 to 1994. These figures are based upon reported cases of rape and molestation involving security forces in the local media. According to statistics provided by a United Nations publication, 882 women were gang raped by security forces in the IHK from 1990 to 1996.The portal also makes the poignant observation that the NGOs operating in the IHK hardly take any interest in documenting the plight of rape victims bearing the brunt of Indian oppression in Kashmir.

Indian Government's refusal to squarely confront the issue of rape committed by its forces and reluctance in taking suitable disciplinary measures is only adding to the malignancy of the despicable phenomenon. Investigations, much like the course taken by the current episode, get launched with much enthusiasm only to peter out in due course with culprits getting away with their crime scot-free. A case in point is mass rape committed by 5 Rajputana Rifles in the village Konan-Poshpura in Kupwara on the night of 22 -23 February 1991. Forty women and young girls were raped by the Indian troops but despite passage of eighteen years no one has been convicted. The trauma of the villagers can be gauged from the fact that no girl belonging to the village has been married due to the stigma of rape attached to the unfortunate bunch. A number of women who had been married in other areas have been divorced by their husbands. Eight women have died from reasons emanating from psychotic disorders without seeing their tormentors brought to the book.

The current rising of the Kashmiri masses in protest against the rape and murder of two young women is a positive portent. It reflects a salutary trend that indicates to steeling of the grass root Kashmiri resistance that has effectively replaced the armed struggle for freedom. Heinous and detestable as they are, incidents of rape and molestation need to be treated at par with, if not with greater attendant concern accorded to custodial murders and involuntary disappearances that abound in the IHK. Widespread it is but it remains a pity that the scourge of rape in Kashmir draws only a peripheral concern by the local NGOs and various human rights watch agencies. An effective backlash by the Kashmiri masses will not only impose caution on the reckless and ill disciplined among the Indian security forces' ranks but will also force the human rights' watchdog agencies to be more cognizant of the acute trauma faced by the Kashmiri women. This will also encourage the victims of rape to come forward with greater confidence to report their ordeals. Kashmiris are learning the power of passive non-violent resistance and that augers well for the future of Kashmir and of its much victimized womenfolk.