This year’s theme emphasizes the urgent need to empower women globally, yet in regions like occupied Kashmir, investment in women's rights remains a distant dream. Here, women continue to bear the brunt of military aggression, their resilience tested at every turn. Despite this, they refuse to break, embodying the spirit of progress through resistance and survival.
Kashmir, a land where the rivers weep and the mountains whisper tales of agony, has long been a battlefield, and its women have endured the worst of its scars. Yet, the occupied Kashmiri women are not mere victims; they are warriors draped in resilience, standing tall like Chinars amidst the storm. Their struggles echo the age-old saying, "Jis tan lagay, so tan janay" (Only the wounded knows the pain), yet they continue to resist, unbowed and unbroken.
The Weight of Occupation: A Cross Too Heavy to Bear
Living under the world’s most militarized occupation, Kashmiri women carry a burden heavier than mountains. From enforced disappearances to systematic sexual violence, they are left to pick up shattered pieces of lives torn apart. As the Kashmiri proverb goes, "Jang pehnay wath, ghar kyah wath" (When war enters the house, peace takes flight).
According to a report by the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), over 8,000 men have disappeared since the 1990s, leaving behind thousands of "half-widows"—women trapped in uncertainty, neither married nor widowed. The same report estimates that more than 20,000 women suffer from PTSD due to the relentless trauma of occupation.
Parveena Ahanger, a mother turned activist after her son was forcibly taken in 1990, refused to sit idle in grief. She founded the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), proving that Kashmiri women do not merely endure—they fight. Her journey embodies the Kashmiri saying, "Wuchh patram, wuchh path" (A mother’s heart sees beyond what eyes can perceive).
Stories of Strength: A Valley of Silent Cries
Kunan-Poshpora: The Night That Never Ended
The night of February 23, 1991, remains a scar on Kashmir’s soul. In Kunan and Poshpora, over 40 women were subjected to mass sexual violence by security forces. A 2014 report revealed that over 80% of these women still suffer severe trauma. Despite intimidation, they fight for justice, knowing well that, "Rath kyazi wath, goye ti wath" (The night may be long, but dawn will come). Their haunting words remain: "We were left to live, but our souls were taken."
Haleema’s Silent War: Haleema, a mother of two, lost her husband in a staged encounter. Left to fend for herself, she took up sewing to feed her children. "The world does not see our silent struggles. We fight wars inside our homes and outside," she says, her voice steady, her spirit unshaken. Like her, over 2,000 women have been forced into single parenthood due to extrajudicial killings in the last decade alone. The Kashmiri idiom, "Aab che wath, daryav che gath" (Water may be still, but the river runs deep), speaks of their hidden strength.
Rape as a Weapon of War: The Wounds That Never Heal
The use of sexual violence as a tool of war is a cruel reality in Kashmir. A 2019 United Nations report documented over 1,000 cases between 1990 and 2019, though countless others remain silenced by shame and fear. As the old Kashmiri saying goes, "Gari mooj maaz chu kyah karyi" (A silent mother cannot protect her child). Yet, Kashmiri women refuse to remain silent. Human rights activist Khurram Parvez warns, "The world's silence enables these crimes."
Resistance Through Art and Literature: A Voice in the Wilderness
Oppression may chain their bodies, but it cannot silence their voices. Kashmiri women are using art and literature to resist. Writers like Nayeema Ahmad Mahjoor and artists like Masrat Zahra refuse to let history be erased. Zahra, a fearless photojournalist, has documented the agony of Kashmiri women, earning her charges under draconian laws. As Kashmiris say, "Harmukh bar tal, su yaar tal" (Even under ice, love survives). So does resistance.
A Storm on the Horizon
The voices of Kashmiri women demand to be heard beyond the mountains that cage them. As Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai aptly says, "We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back." These women are not just fighting for survival but for dignity, justice, and a future where their daughters do not inherit their pain. The Kashmiri saying, "Yi chhui wath, akh roz gatchi ath" (This storm will pass, and a new day will rise), offers a glimmer of hope.
The struggle of Kashmiri women is not just a regional crisis; it is one of the most urgent human rights issues of our time. Their courage, even in the darkest of nights, proves that no amount of oppression can erase their existence.
The world debates Kashmir, but its women live its agony every single day. It is time their stories are heard, their wounds acknowledged, and their cries answered. Only then will justice find its way to the valley of sorrow, where even the Chinars bleed.