A report by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service highlighted the severe impact of Indian state terrorism on women in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) over the past seventy-five years. According to the report released on Wednesday, at least 685 women have been martyred by Indian forces in the region since January 2001.
The study revealed that Kashmiri women have endured significant suffering due to the conflict, with 22,972 women widowed since 1989. The report deplored the routine involvement of Indian troops, paramilitary, and police personnel in sexual harassment to suppress the Kashmiris’ demand for the right to self-determination. During the period, 11,263 Kashmiri women were reported to have been molested and disgraced.
The document highlighted specific instances of brutality, including the Kunanposhpora mass rape, Shopian double-rape-and-murder, and Kathua rape-and-murder of an 8-year-old girl. It emphasized the alarming figures of sexual violence perpetrated by Indian forces and condemned such acts.
Thousands of women in the region have suffered the loss of sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers who faced custodial disappearance by Indian troops, paramilitary, and police personnel. The report cited the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, stating that over 8,000 Kashmiris went missing in custody during the past 35 years.
The report further underscored the impact on school children, with thousands injured by pellets fired by Indian troops. Over a hundred, including young children, lost their eyesight due to pellet injuries. Additionally, 33 women, including Hurriyat leaders and activists, were mentioned to be facing illegal detention for their affiliation with the Kashmiris’ struggle for self-determination.
The report urged the world community to take note of the plight of Kashmiri women facing severe brutality and called for attention to the longstanding conflict in the occupied territory.
