Voices Unheard: A Magazine
Published By
Kashmiri Women’s Initiative for Peace and Disarmament
(KWIPD)
January-March 2003
‘Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace’
Editorial:
The Kashmiri Women's Initiative for Peace and Disarmament, a newly constituted women's group from Indian controlled Kashmir, is part of Jammu & Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS). The members of KWIPD represent a wide range of women ranging from teachers, doctors, academicians, journalists and psychologists to students and housewives. This is a step towards strengthening the civil society by active participation and interaction with people within and outside Kashmir.
Voices Unheard is a quarterly newsletter published by the Kashmir based KWIPD. The periodical not only focuses on human right issues in whole of Jammu and Kashmir but also will bring forth the pathetic condition of women and children especially human right abuses in this internationally identified conflict zone. Kashmir, one of the most volatile region and nuclear flash point is sandwiched between two nuclear nations, India and Pakistan. Three wars have been fought on Kashmir, which has sapped the resources, energies and vitality of not just India, Pakistan but of entire South Asia. Peace in Kashmir is imperative for South Asia's survival. There has been no serious effort to fulfill the aspirations of the people by allowing plebiscite under United Nations auspices as promised to the people of state at the time of accession. Role of international community in realizing proposals can't be undermined in the changing scenario of International politics. Peaceful solutions to all-pending international disputes are the need of the hour. Global opinion against the war has mounted with the anti-war protest rallies across the globe, especially in the wake of US-led invasion of Iraq. War, in all its manifestations brings death and destruction to civilizations. People of the twenty-first century want to live in peace, so world civil society has emerged as a platform of peace-loving conscious people. Peace activists like Rachel Corrie (23 year old, resident of Olympia who died in Rafah, near the Gaza strip when Israeli bulldozer trampled her) who rise above nationality and religion against inhumanity are unforgettable international martyrs and these people are a silver lining in the dark clouds of worsening human rights.
The Kashmir imbroglio is lingering from more than five decades and has so far consumed more than 75,000 precious lives. Enforced disappearances, extra-judicial executions, torture, rape, molestations, house-to-house searches (crackdowns), are a routine phenomenon. Mental health disorders have increased multi-fold with adolescents seeking refuge under drugs ultimately adding to vices of the society. The mining of Kashmir's agricultural and forest area, near the border area, is posing a potential threat to locals and is adversely affecting their livelihood.
This quarterly is an attempt to highlight the plight of women in war zones. Women, being the most vulnerable, account for the vast majority of those adversely affected by armed conflict. Human being is a problem solving species and every effort should lead towards a better and peaceful world. Women have unique ability to bridge seemingly insurmountable divides. Armed conflict brings its own distinct forms of violence against women. Stories, anecdotes and situation reports about women, especially their fortitude, sufferings, ordeal and awareness about their basic rights will be the main focus. This newsletter is a salutation and tributes to those women who fight with courage and deserve all praises and applaud, but go unnoticed even in the eyes of their own people. Every effort of KWIPD will try to pave a way for peace and disarmament, not only at regional or national, but also at international level.
AND THE SEARCH IS ON… Aasia Jeelani
In 21st century we are talking of women’s emancipation and other such hazy terms. Women’s emancipation a word hard to describe, with a lot of connotations, while for the rest of the world it denotes that women are marching ahead in all spheres of life be it education, financial independence or freedom from moral fabric of the society. Now women are setting their norms and defying that existed earlier. They have dared to venture into areas, which were once confined to male dominance and emerged out victorious.
Today’s women has arrived and arrived all over the world. But the story is different in this part of the globe. Here women have arrived to suffer and suffer in silence. Fifteen years back, history wrote a new chapter in the lives of the people of Kashmir, when they demanded an independent state and as happens in any political imbroglio, women and children are the worst affected. Thus a period of pain and agony started, as the armed forces unleashed a reign of terror killing thousands of people, and injuring the self-esteem of millions all over the state. During this reign, a phenomenon new to Kashmir ‘enforced disappearances ‘surfaced, engulfing thousands of Kashmiri’s.
A person picked on suspicion of being involved in anti-national activities went missing and his whereabouts were never revealed, leading to mental trauma for the whole family. It could not be known whether that person was alive or dead and this practice led to emergence of a new section of society (half-widow), a term implying to a women who doesn’t know whether her husband is alive or dead. These women are going through an identity crisis and, in many cases their psychological balance been disturbed. There are thousands of half widows in Kashmir and their future is bleak as many of them cannot re-marry for the fear of social ostracization. And, for others the wait seems endless, yet hope is the key word that keeps them going.
Dilshada Begum, just 30 years old and mother of three children, her husband Ghulam Nabi Khan was arrested in 1997 in Handwara and till date it has not been ascertained whether he is dead or alive. Since then Dilshada has been leading an existence of a half-widow. After her husband’s enforced disappearance, Dilshada and her in-laws moved from pillar to post to locate him, an FIR was lodged and a case registered. She also pleaded the case with State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) in 2001 but all efforts proved futile, as substantial evidence of his whereabouts were not known. She looked for him everywhere (within J&K and outside) and sold her property even jewelry to pursue the search but the search continues. All this took heavy toll in Dilshada’s family, her brother-in-law (husband’s brother) couldn’t bear the loss of his brother and he died of shock, survived by wife and three minor children. Dilshada’s father-in-law had already died leaving behind an ailing wife. Today Dilshada lives with her three children, her sister-in-law and her kids and a sick mother-in-law. The irony of Dilshada is that there is no male member in her family. She has to strive for her own-self and her family, making two ends meet is a harsh task for her. Being illiterate, there are no means of employment except that she does menial jobs like washing dishes and other kind of odd work, which doesn’t satisfy her financial needs.
Dilshada is the case of a women’s emancipation in Kashmir, with no male help she is living and trying hard to strive in this world. For her, emancipation means sustaining her family somehow. After all these years of struggle and pain she is hopeful that one day her husband will come and all the pain will cease. Dilshada is not a sole exception of the misery of being half-widow thousands of women share the same plight, there is Shafiqa, whose husband disappeared many years back and together with her children she is waiting that the doors of fortune will open and bring in her husband one day. Dilshada or Shafiqa, the names may be different but the pain is the same. Women in Kashmir are suffering, a mother has lost a son, a sister has lost a brother, a daughter has lost a father and a wife has lost her husband. Yet all are living and braving all oddities that life has thrown at them, hoping some day, their dear ones will arrive and all the sufferings will end. And this speaks volumes about women’s emancipation in Kashmir. And until the sufferings end the search goes on and on.
First time, I met Shahzada and Shameema I could feel their anguish. They were huddled near the gas heater. Both sisters were very quiet. I thought a family member had disappeared. Little did I know they were the victims of the system themselves?
Shahzada, 18yrs old, and shameema, 16, were living with their parents and three younger siblings in Dangerpora, in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. Both sisters would diligently sit at their carpet weaving, trying to earn a living. These young innocent girls were living happily in their village.
In October 2002, while they were returning from a wedding party, the girls were surrounded by armed renegades (pro government, ex-militants working with the Indian security forces). They forcibly took both sisters away. Their father, Abdul Rehman searched for them everywhere. After three days of captivity Shameema managed to escape and return home. After her return the renegades visited them and threatened Abdul Rehman. They warned him against going to the police for assistance.
Shahzada was forced to marry a 40year old renegade, who already had a wife and five kids. She was kept as his wife and both moved from house to house. In February he took her to his own house. There shahzada was subjected to vocal abuse from his wife. All this time the renegade wanted shahzada to bear a child from him. This scared shahzada further and somehow she managed to escape. On February 23rd, three armed renegades accompanying the renegades who had kidnapped her visited the family. They threatened Abdul Rehman that unless he did not return Shahzada back to them they would shoot him and burn down the house. They also wanted shameema to marry one of their group members. Soon after the renegades left, Dar could take it no longer. He fled with his two daughters in the middle of the night.
He reached Srinagar and lodged with some far away relatives. Contacting a lawyer he filed a petition in the Kashmir high court, on February 28th. The hearing date was later postponed. Shahzada and Shameema also came to the office of Kashmiri Women’s Initiative for Peace and Disarmament (KWIPD), for help, which is a part of the J&K Coalition of Civil Society. The KWIPD sent a petition for urgent action to the Amnesty International. The Amnesty verified the situation and sent a public appeal out. They also asked the minister of law for state and the district commissioner to investigate and protect the Dar family.
In an Indian National newspaper same story was carried about the girls. In this news report, the Budgam superintendent of police, Mr. Khandare, alleged that militants had abducted the girls. He also stated that he had got the girls back home to safety. However, the daughters and the father were still living at their relatives at different places. Living apart made the girls more homesick and their condition more pathetic.
Their neighbor, who visited from their village, did not bear any good news. The renegades had come to their family home again and summoned the neighborhood. This time they threatened Dar’s brother of dire consequences, if Shahzada and Shameema did not come back to them. They locked his kitchen and warned that they will set the house on fire.
In Srinagar Dar went to Mehbooba Mufti (vice president of the ruling party, PDP, in Kashmir) many times and filed a request form. She assured him of action.Finally, the Urgent Action by Amnesty International forced S.P Khandare to take action. He assured Dar of safe return and said that he would make sure that he was not harassed again. The two sisters who were already missing their mother and siblings accompanied their father back.
The story of Shahzada and Shameema is a story of the many young girls in Kashmir. The incidents may be common but every incident scars a young girl for life. In the 21st Century these girls are still at the mercy of the state forces. The ‘healing touch’ of the new government has yet to begin. I wonder how many Shahzadas and Shameemas’ will be victims of the tyranny and barbarism of the forces till the world opens their heart.
In the Vale of Despair Nusrat Manzoor
Life me, lift me, lift me for a while
Let me recede from despairs pile
O, imagination come- take me away
From this darkness what they call day
Can't see more helpless being crushed
And their innocent sighs being hushed
By shrill cries that prepare to break
The castle of hope that nothing could shake
Where do I stand? What's this place?
Where gloom devours each juvenile face
O, but some faces I can trace
with crimson bloom but lacking grace
here hallow trees don't crumble down
but keep on wearing spring's gown
spread wide their thorny shoots
and hold the soil with venonamus roots
ah! I bleed under this shade
where dreams of youth seem to fade
a lump in my throat I feel
but I stand as strong as steel
who has stolen the redness of rose
and kept by force under wild toes
what has eclipsed the infantile smile
and made it taste the bitter bile
behold that last drop of blood
waits to take the form of flood
and that suppressed sigh alone
wakes to break out as cyclone
here I wait for that bright day
when fresh bloom'll replace the hay
and in grave'll decay ugly things
and beauty fearless aloud sings
INNOCENCE UNDER TYRANNY Shabina Miraj
First time, I met Shahzada and Shameema I could feel their anguish. They were huddled near the gas heater. Both sisters were very quiet. I thought a family member had disappeared. Little did I know they were the victims of the system themselves?
Shahzada, 18yrs old, and shameema, 16, were living with their parents and three younger siblings in Dangerpora, in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. Both sisters would diligently sit at their carpet weaving, trying to earn a living. These young innocent girls were living happily in their village.
In October 2002, while they were returning from a wedding party, the girls were surrounded by armed renegades (pro government, ex-militants working with the Indian security forces). They forcibly took both sisters away. Their father, Abdul Rehman searched for them everywhere. After three days of captivity Shameema managed to escape and return home. After her return the renegades visited them and threatened Abdul Rehman. They warned him against going to the police for assistance.
Shahzada was forced to marry a 40year old renegade, who already had a wife and five kids. She was kept as his wife and both moved from house to house. In February he took her to his own house. There shahzada was subjected to vocal abuse from his wife. All this time the renegade wanted shahzada to bear a child from him. This scared shahzada further and somehow she managed to escape. On February 23rd, three armed renegades accompanying the renegades who had kidnapped her visited the family. They threatened Abdul Rehman that unless he did not return Shahzada back to them they would shoot him and burn down the house. They also wanted shameema to marry one of their group members. Soon after the renegades left, Dar could take it no longer. He fled with his two daughters in the middle of the night.
He reached Srinagar and lodged with some far away relatives. Contacting a lawyer he filed a petition in the Kashmir high court, on February 28th. The hearing date was later postponed. Shahzada and Shameema also came to the office of Kashmiri Women’s Initiative for Peace and Disarmament (KWIPD), for help, which is a part of the J&K Coalition of Civil Society. The KWIPD sent a petition for urgent action to the Amnesty International. The Amnesty verified the situation and sent a public appeal out. They also asked the minister of law for state and the district commissioner to investigate and protect the Dar family.
In an Indian National newspaper same story was carried about the girls. In this news report, the Budgam superintendent of police, Mr. Khandare, alleged that militants had abducted the girls. He also stated that he had got the girls back home to safety. However, the daughters and the father were still living at their relatives at different places. Living apart made the girls more homesick and their condition more pathetic. Their neighbor, who visited from their village, did not bear any good news. The renegades had come to their family home again and summoned the neighborhood. This time they threatened Dar’s brother of dire consequences, if Shahzada and Shameema did not come back to them. They locked his kitchen and warned that they will set the house on fire.
In Srinagar Dar went to Mehbooba Mufti (vice president of the ruling party, PDP, in Kashmir) many times and filed a request form. She assured him of action. Finally, the Urgent Action by Amnesty International forced S.P Khandare to take action. He assured Dar of safe return and said that he would make sure that he was not harassed again. The two sisters who were already missing their mother and siblings accompanied their father back.
The story of Shahzada and Shameema is a story of the many young girls in Kashmir. The incidents may be common but every incident scars a young girl for life. In the 21st Century these girls are still at the mercy of the state forces. The ‘healing touch’ of the new government has yet to begin. I wonder how many Shahzadas and Shameemas’ will be victims of the tyranny and barbarism of the forces till the world opens their heart.Women and Children killed from 1st January to 31st March 2003
Date Women
Children
Jan 1
1
Jan 5
1
Jan 11
1
1
Jan 13
Jan 16
1
Jan 18
1
Jan 19
1
Jan 21
1
Feb 6
1
Feb 17
1
Mar 4
1
Mar 8
1
Mar 11
1
Mar 13
2
Mar 16
2
Mar 21
1
Mar 23
2
Mar 24
11
2
Mar 27
1
Total
24
10
BETWEEN HOPE AND DESPAIR Shaheena Guru
This is a story of a woman whose life was shattered by a series of unfortunate incidents to the blood-spattered Kashmir Conflict. In a span of two years, Shaheena lost three members of her family. Her brother’s enforced disappearance created a storm in her life and to this day life has never been the same again. Here is the sorrowful tale of Shaheena, straight from her heart.
“It was a sad day when my brother Sajjad Ahmed Guroo son of late Ghulam Mohammad Guroo resident of mini housing colony Channapora was picked up by 30 BN Border Security Forces (B.S.F) at Exhibition Crossing while we both were waiting for bus. The date was June 10 and the year was 1994. It was the most sorrowful day of our lives and my whole family was shaken due to this incident.
So my tale of woes and misery began with this episode. My widow mother and my brother went to every nook and corner for tracing him out. No clue was found, neither the police nor the civil authorities could help us and till date we are waiting for justice. Our wounds were so deep that no body could heal them. But this was just the beginning of our ordeal, for soon my second brother was arrested and was killed in custody.
And this happened at a time when cease-fire had been announced by the then army chief Mr. Dillon, and the day was 21st February 1996, and it happened at the eve of Eid-ur-fitr. This second accident of my life left me shattered and brought endless suffering to my family. Life had lost its meaning. My mother could not bear this shock for long and she died due to this grief. But I had to live for my family, every thing else was lost. My purpose of living was only to seek justice for my younger brother, who was left alone in this world to fend for himself. At that time he was helpless and without any family member. I gave him shelter and encouraged him to do well in life and than I sent him to Delhi to work as salesman in a private company.
After a long struggle, I was able to put my case of missing brother to State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) where Justice A.Q. Parray, in his judgment recommended state government to sanction Rs 1 Lac (1 hundred thousand) and an employment for my younger brother under SRO 43. This judgment was passed on March 26 and I am not sure when it will be implemented, It might take years or it may remain what it is - a mere judgment”.
WEIGHING THE FACTS BY THE THUMB SELECTIVE CONDEMNATION OF KILLINGS Farhat Mantoo
Yet, another district of Southern Kashmir hit the news headlines after March 2000 and the news was heart-corroding and excruciating massacre of people belonging to minority Hindu community. The carnage took place in Nadimarg, Pulwama and this gruesome incident claimed 24 precious lives including 11 women and two children. Widespread condemnation came from people belonging to all section of society and condolences expressed by both national as well as international leaders. This grisly episode was barbaric, inhumane and a heinous act and has to be denounced by the civilized society at every strata.
Life is precious, be it of person belonging to minority or majority community. Killings are to be condemned but such condemnation is not to be selective or elective. The armed struggle in the valley of Kashmir since late 1980s has witnessed innumerable incidents, which not only, are to be damned and probed, but people want action to be taken against the guilty. The international and national media, due to pressures from and within, or their biased approach, or blurred vision are not able to portray the actual happenings of day-to-day Kashmir where number of men, women and children die.
Every incident has more than two dimensions when pondered upon. To have a clear vision, one should know a little about the historical aspect. People belonging to minority population migrated from the valley in 1990s and the migration was allegedly instrumented by the then Governor Jag Mohan. An attempt was made to taint the Kashmir problem as Communal/Religious issue rather than a just freedom struggle. Those Hindus who preferred to stay back have been targeted at selective intervals. These timings coincided either the visit of any international dignitary or any important pronouncement made by international community, which would pave a way towards peaceful dialogue ultimately leading to solution of Kashmir imbroglio. Cynics are of the opinion that such incidents are time-specific which sabotage any sincere peace effort.
The occasion of the carnages bring Kashmir into limelight, and political parties in opposition and at national level draw political mileage out of it. Blame game start in full media glare and enquiries and commissions are ordered to probe in. At the very first instance, the militants are blamed and held responsible for such grisly acts. If they are culprits, then rather ordering for a probe, it would be more appropriate and demanding to launch a massive hunt to nab them. Though the enquiries of the previous massacres have not been made public and nothing substantiate has come to forefront yet these probes are ordered every time.
The violent incidents in the strife-torn valley, has so far claimed more than 75,000 lives, mostly from majority community. On an average, 10-15 people die every day. As in every conflict, women and children are the most vulnerable and affected. Is that to be news and to be noticed, by national and international media, the Kashmiri's have to die in 10s and 20s. Going by the official statistics, more than 200 persons have been killed from Jan-2003 to Mar-2003 and 13 women and eight children have been killed inhumanely in past three months. The figures state the obvious. Why do these deaths go unnoticed, far from condemnation and condolences? A women battling for her life after set afire or a mentally retarded woman killed by unidentified gunmen is of least significance for international audiences. Why doesn't international community take recognizance of such inhumane acts and condemn them in hardest possible words? This elective discriminative approach instigates skepticism and lack of trust among Kashmiri's as these unsung deaths and unheard saga further adds to agonised and grieved minds and misery of toiling masses.
Nadimarg butchery was called the death of grieving Kashmiriyat and strangely, dying Kashmiris are not given due consideration and respect in their own land. Immediate ex-gratis, relief and jobs were announced for the survivors of Nadimarg massacre to give them some respite but why does a common Kashmiri have to move from pillar to post to get the same. Their cries, pain and ordeal go unheard and unseen.
These questions are to be thought upon or else the gulf will widen and the people will further alienate. It may be right to paraphrase here about those selective condemnatory people, that a person who converts the main issue in piety into a side issue and a side issue into the main issue is not success every time. Weighing the facts with your thumbs on the scale won't be effective always.Against All Odds -- Aasia Jeelani
Farida Wani, a widow and mother of three, is finding life hard after her husband,s death. Her husband Abdul Hamid Wani, a mason by profession earned him enough to satisfy his personal and family needs. Theirs’ was a happy family but alas! Not with a fairy tale ending.
On November 26, Wani went to work as usual. At about 9 A.M., local police at Bypass, Nowgam road, picked him and after five days of brutal torture, he died in custody. His wife Farida and her three children were shaken by the incident. The loss was too grave to be borne but life has to go on and it is this going, which is getting tougher day by day. Since she lived in a nuclear family, there is no support of her in–laws. She herself is a house wife and her children are too young to work, in fact her elder son Younis Wani studies in ninth class and is barely 14 years old and her second son is in eighth standard. Her daughter Shagufta is just eight years old and she also goes to school. With three School going children and no earning member in the family, Farida finds the going very tough indeed.
Her children, who were studying in a private school, feel very embarrassed when they are constantly pestered for paying their fees. Something they never bothered with, when their father was alive. Says Younis “We do not have money to pay school fees; I don’t want to go there now”. Farida is planning to shift them to public school as education would be cheaper there. For Farida it is a question of survival. Her husbands’ death left her emotionally and financially drained. Emotional trauma not withstanding, today the most important aspect of her life is to be financially secure and after that the priority would be to bring her husbands’ killers to book. State human rights commission (SHRC) has promised relief but it is not coming her way.
Farida’s case assumes importance in the light that it was the first custodial killing after the Mufti government took over on 2nd November. The main election plank of the newly formed government which is also included in the CIP (Common Minimum Programme) had promised to punish all those involved in gross human rights violation. Ironically in the very month of November, Farida’s husband died in custody rendering government’s claim of “putting an end to human rights violation” as null and void. This issue was highlighted in the local press and all the newspaper carried this story. Mehbooba Mufti, president of PDP (ruling party) personally visited Farida’s home and even shed tears at her tragedy and, promised that this matter would be looked into. A relief package was also promised but till date nothing has been done. She continues to plead her case, but the road ahead is tough .She needs the money for her family’s survival and she needs it now. She has braved the loss of her husband’s death and now her priority is her children’s future. “My aim in life is security and well being of my children and I will live to see that I get justice”, says Farida. When will that Justice be delivered remains to be seen for as the maxim goes Justice delayed is Justice denied.
“Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding”. Ralph Waldo EmersonKWIPD Essay Competition
Kashmiri Women’s Initiative for Peace & Disarmament (KWIPD) had organized an essay competition “PLIGHT OF WOMEN IN TODAY’S KASHMIR”. KWIPD received an overwhelming response and in future also we hope to organize such competitions to promote young talent. All the entries received were par excellence but the winner has to be better among the best. The first prize entry was given to Mueen Hakak and the consolation prizes went to Suzana Mushtaq and Urooj Islam
PLIGHT OF WOMEN IN TODAY’S KASHMIR
Excerpts from Prize winning Essay by MUEEN HAKAK
ONE WORD CAN FRAME THE GOAL.
ONE HOPE CAN RAISE THE SPIRIT.
ONE CANDLE CAN WIPE OUT DARKNESS.
ONE KINDNESS CAN HEAL THE WOUND.
ONE LIFE CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE.
Have you ever thought & imagined how a canvas once filled with life would look if brushed with death? Just look at Kashmir- especially the plight of its women as widows, orphans, destitute, traumatized and you will come to know. The “paradise on Earth” is losing its grandeur, dying a slow death, endless lives lost, and miseries continue unabated with each passing day. People displaced from their homes, fighting odds to survive, with deep ached memories. How, why & when we reached this stage pales into insignificance when confronted with the varying shades of misery and pain. IS THIS PLACE WE CALLED PARADISE???
The day we stepped into the new millennium, we already had crossed the unfortunate figures of – 25000 widows, 1000 half-widows, 40000 orphan girls and 70000 heartbroken mothers with photographs of their sons, their only remains. With everyday passing, the troubles of a Kashmiri woman increase. With each day bringing injustice to women here, can we call ourselves civilized? Women have been the worst sufferers during the decade long turmoil. With the killing of a husband, a widow is born; the death of a son wreaks havoc on the psyche of the mother; the husbands’ disappearance renders a ‘half-widow’. Rape, molestation is not new experience adding to already troubled souls. The woman who was raped in Kunan Poshpora has confined herself to solitary, her only companion. Nobody has seen her for the past 10 years. The wounds are too deep to heal.
Bruised bodies, mauled souls, stressed minds, ailing hearts, shattered hopes and disturbed faces need something more than hollow sympathies offered by the public and the shameless governments. And yet we just hear and ignore. What if tomorrow my mother, my sister, my daughter or my wife faces this? Shall I not have to secure the future of my beloved ones? Is it not the responsibility of every Kashmiri to take concrete steps in this regard so that our future generation, have a better and a prosperous life to live? For how long shall we have to mourn our own approaching death?
I finally conclude, with a ray of hope – an undying hope to save myself, to save our women, to save all – and to save our Kashmir.
LET’S GIVE THEM CHANCE TO DREAM, A DREAM FOR A BETTER LIFE.
LOST PARADISE
Kashmir once described by a Persian poet as “Paradise on earth” has turned into a living hell for the angels that once roamed in this paradise. Brutal killings, rapes, molestation, custodial torture, and abductions have become a part of Kashmir’s heritage. Not a day passes when reports about numerous deaths cease to pour in. The newspaper pages are filled with statistics of death tolls. Facts and figures used to speak for themselves many moons ago but not now, today these facts have became a common routine and stir no feelings of pain or sorrow. The dance of death goes on in this valley and all and sundry have maintained a cold silence Men, women, children all are dying in this paradise. Human lives have no value and that in a country where even dogs are not killed as per the directions of eminent animal right activist-Dogs have a right to live but not humans, not in this paradise at least.
Here is a list of women and children along with their names and address and cause of death killed in the month of January, February, and March. These figures are only of three months what will follow, in the ensuing months’ leaves nothing to imagination.
Women Children Killed
In the Month of January:
Jan 1: In an unsuccessful bid to abduct the daughter of Ghulam Mohammad Rather of Shopian,
unidentified gunmen opened fire resulting in the death of his daughter Nageena.
Jan 5: In an encounter between militants and security forces at Dharam Bajambri in Gool village one woman was killed. The deceased has been identified as Javeeda Begum Wife of Mohammad Abdullah.
Jan 11: In Mandi sector of Poonch, unidentified gunmen barged in the house of one Shams-ud-in and opened fire indiscriminately on the inmates, which resulted in the death of his wife and son. The deceased were identified as Barkat Bi and Mohammad Shakeel.
Jan 16: Security force allegedly killed a girl at Warnow in Lolab of district Kupwara. Reports said that a group of girls were busy working in the field when with out any provocation, security forces allegedly opened fire on them resulting in the death of one of the girls. The deceased was identified as Shakeela daughter of Abdul Rashid of Lolab.
Jan 18: Police recovered a bullet pumped body of a young woman of twenty-two years old from Damhal, Hajipora. The deceased was identified as Shakeela Akthar. It has not yet been confirmed who killed her.
Jan 19: A sixteen-year-old boy and his father was shot dead at Gund Qaiser near Bandipora. The boy was a 10nth class student.
Jan 21: Militants allegedly kidnapped a woman and later her dead body was recovered from the nearby area of Sadgi Bhatta in tehsil Kishtwar. The deceased has been identified as Meran wife of Mohammad Shafi of tehsil Kishtwar.
In the Month of February:
Feb 6: An elderly woman was shot dead in the main Handwara Chowk, allegedly by security forces.
Feb 17: Troops allegedly shot dead a mentally retarded girl in Banihal area of district Doda. The deceased was identified as Qusum Nawaz, aged 17, and resident of Baniha
In the Month of March:
Mar 4: Unidentified gunmen attacked one of the residential houses at Yaripora in Kulgam area of Islamabad, critically injuring two women there. Later on one of the injured women succumbed to her injuries. The deceased was identified as, Zaitoon daughter of Abdul Khaliq Mir.
Mar 8: A woman identified as, Fatima Begum who was injured in a shoot out at Yaripora, Kulgam district Anantnag succumbed to her injuries.
Mar 13: Two minors were killed in separate IED blast, one at Rajouri town of Jammu
province. And A VIIth class student was killed when he accidentally stepped
over an IED at village Doodoute of District Doda. The deceased has been identified as Khushi Mohammad son of Noor Mohammad r/o village Doodoute.
Mar 16: Two women were killed in separate incidents. Rashtriya Rifles (RR) 17 Bn. allegedly shot a mentally retarded woman while she was trespassing’ the premises of RR camp at Nowgam area of Banihal. Another woman was killed in a shoot out at Gool-Gulangarh area of District Udhampur. The identification of deceased was not established
Mar 21: An SPO shot dead his sister and injured his mother when he opened fire on them. The incident took place in Poonch .The SPO was allegedly in a drunken state. The deceased has been identified as Parveen Akthar.
Mar 23: Two women were killed in cross border shelling between Indian and Pakistani troops near Line of Control (LoC) at Nowshera sector of Rajouri district. The deceased have been identified as Rajwanti and Raj Devi residents of Makari village, Nowshera.
Mar 24: Unidentified gunmen massacred 24 persons of minority community including eleven women and two children.
Mar 27: A woman and her husband died on the spot when unidentified gunmen forced their entry inside their house at Malikpora Vilgam and fired indiscriminately on the inmates. The deceased have been identified as Mohammad Amin Margay and his wife Shabana.
Voices Unheard: A Magazine
Published By
Kashmiri Women’s Initiative for Peace and Disarmament (KWIPD)The Bund, Amira Kadal Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir)
Tel: ++91-194-2482820
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