SRINAGAR: A recent report released by the Kashmir Media Service on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict sheds light on the alarming situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
The report exposes the grim reality that women in the region are the primary victims of the Indian forces’ brutalities, with sexual violence being systematically employed as a weapon to suppress the Kashmiri people’s struggle for their right to self-determination.
According to the report, over the past 34 years, Indian forces have subjected more than 11,259 women to sexual assault in IIOJK. This harrowing statistic illustrates how New Delhi deliberately targets women in the region to humiliate and instill fear within the Kashmiri population. Incidents such as the Kunanposhpora mass rape, the Shopian double rape and murder, and the rape and murder of a minor girl in Kathua exemplify the brutal face of the Indian forces deployed in the occupied territory.
The night of February 23, 1991, witnessed a horrific incident in the Kunanposhpora area of Kupwara district, where around a hundred women were gang-raped by Indian troops during a cordon and search operation. Similarly, on May 29, 2009, Aasiya and Neelofar, two women from Shopian, were abducted, gang-raped, and subsequently killed in custody by Indian men in uniform. Their bodies were discovered the next morning in a shallow stream. Another heart-wrenching incident occurred in January 2018 when an 8-year-old Muslim girl, Aasifa Bano, was repeatedly gang-raped by Indian policemen and communal Hindus in Kathua, Jammu.
No Action Against Indian Troops Involved in Sexual Violence
Shockingly, despite the gravity of these heinous crimes, not a single Indian soldier or policeman involved in such acts has been held accountable or punished thus far, highlighting the prevailing culture of impunity. The report emphasizes that the Kashmiri people will never forget the horrific incidents of mass rape in Kunanposhpora and numerous other inhuman occurrences in IIOJK. It calls upon women’s rights organizations worldwide to raise their voices in support of Kashmiri women and condemn these egregious violations.
Furthermore, the report highlights that over two dozen women are currently enduring illegal detentions and mental torture in jails, further compounding their suffering.
The distressing findings of this report underscore the urgent need for the international community to address the grave human rights situation in IIOJK and hold accountable those responsible for the perpetration of sexual violence as a means of suppressing the legitimate aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
