No place has been more synonymous with oppression of people of Kashmir in recent history than Kashmir, and nowhere was the abuse more brutal than here. From a rape case of a minor in South Kashmir to Killing of another in the heart of the city .From killing of a teacher to the abduction of Mehran ,and how can I forget the world largest exodus of Kashmiri Pundits. And the story goes on and on. Everyone is equally responisble, the army, militants, politicians, officers ,and many more. Lets find out the different dimension of human rights abuse here and else where.
Atrocities
I was watching a video on the You tube, a foreign Journalist was covering a couple of story, It was really heart rendering to find that a whole village on Khonon-Khushpora in Kashmir has been a victim of mass rape. I was literally stunned. The human Rights have recorded the statements of 53 females. It’s learnt that the male members were taken out of their houses and about 53 women were gang raped. The youngest 13 and the oldest 80. The unwed females cannot get married and those who are married are living a life of hell, with no one to share their pain. It’s learnt that many females have been divorced. I am not sure about the authenticity of the numbers but apparently it looks like real , while as I was just surfing around the net I found another video , An attack on an army convoy, were a soldier was killed, the army’s response – 300 shops and houses were burnt to ground. In a democracy no one expects atrocities to happen. Peoples mandate is people’s voice. You ought to listen that what the world order has taught us today. Every one has to be accountable to what he does, whether anyone likes it or not ? However, all these values seem to vanish when a person enters Kashmir. I guess the Champions of 'Khushal Kashmir', the 'healing Touch; or the 'fans of McDonald’s restaurants' were just trying to score cheap points with the masses and soon forgot their election promises....
Gender Bias
According to a survey conducted by an NGO I read recently, the cases of Suicides have gone up. More than 38 per cent of the women interviewed said they were forced to marry against their will and 50 per cent said they were unhappy with their marriage because of domestic abuse. Official acquiescence to reactionary social forces and the Male Domination has meant that many of the hard-won gains made towards equality are now at risk. In Kashmir, one has to agree that their is gender bais. It’s a well known fact that females are more sober and very weak at heart. Its really heart rendering to know that many have lost their dear ones in front of their eyes. Economic problems have followed the loosening of social strictures for many women. They are now allowed to work, albeit sometimes grudgingly, but with high male unemployment they are often the main breadwinners at a time of rapidly rising prices.
What happens Else where
Like in Afghanistan before the Hamid Karzai took over it was impossible to find women not covered by burqas, the symbol of Taliban gender domination. And many women had to hide the fact that they work from their neighbors for fear of insults, or worse. The so called Islamic fundamentalists in Afghanistan burnt schools and beheaded teachers for daring to offer education to girls. Judges most conservative form of Sharia law routinely sent women and girls to prison for disobeying their father's choice in marriage, or deserting violent husbands. Rape victims ended up facing charges of adultery. Didn’t we hear such demands from our own so called leaders? Thank god people did not get carried away by lofty promises and hallow slogans. Despite all this stacked against our society, our women fought back. Girls were encouraged and working-class women went to workshops behind the back of male members of the family. Increasingly, women are now turning to all the fields of life, and even politics?
And Finally
There is a rule of thumb among those whose job it is to literally pick up the pieces after such bloody conflicts. You seldom find more than half the bodies. In many conflict areas people on their return found the bodies of their friends and relatives lying in their houses or gardens, in roadside ditches, or scattered through the forests and mountains. The remains were quickly buried in individual graves, prayers spoken and word was passed about who had been found. There was no reason to seek out the Red Cross to add their names to the list of the missing. Their fate was known. The APDP stages a protest every now and then , who will answer their woes about all the missing people , for god sake we live in a 21st century and ought to know were are dear ones are . In many countries, an attempt was made to learn from the past, and to act sooner rather than later. It is a tough decision to take, but one that could not and should not be dodged. Or should we watch from far as the victims wail with grief on our television screens, and then a year or so later - when the dead have long been buried and memories have blurred - decide that maybe all those human right activist or international observers were just trying to fool us after all
