Militarization and Violence against Women in Indian held Kashmir: An Analysis of International Human Rights Discourse

Abstract

This research paper aims to explore the militarization led victimization of female freedom fighters in Indian held Kashmir. Women are the worst sufferers of the conflict. The current study aims to particularly unveil the experiences of women, they have undergone as a direct hit of violence, molestation and physical and sexual abuse by Indian Armed Forces and rival militant factions with impunity. They are the target of indirect victimization due to the absence of the male members of households (fathers, husbands and sons) in genocide, enforced disappearances, fatalities and mass and unidentified graves that have made the women sole bread earners of households. This study has used the theoretical lens of Feminist Security Studies. For textual interpretation and contextualization of reports published by International Non-Governmental Organizations and other gendered discourse on Kashmir, qualitative content analysis has been employed. This study measures the UN landmark Resolution 1325 in 2000 that acknowledges the impact of conflict on women disproportionately. The study concludes by proposing recommendations that Indian state must prohibit and protect all forms of gender based violence during prolonged conflict of Kashmir and let the Kashmiris exercise their free will.

A Historical and Political Analysis of Kashmir Conflict: From Past to Present

“…It is considered that women's bodies belong not only to themselves but the whole community and attacking their bodies signifies demoralizing the entire community. Raping women has become a strategic weapon of war by the Indian security personnel with impunity (Raazia, 2020;Raazia & Rehman, 2021). The scale, speed and intensity of violence have been increased to crush their right to sovereignty through mass detentions, countermilitancy operations, repressing their rights, rape, extra-judicial killings, fake encounters, mass and unmarked graves and disappearances.…”