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How the Insurgency Has Affected Women’s Social Roles in Kashmir

By Laayba Tanoli · WIIN Fellow, Non-Profit Governance, Human Rights & Immigration Advocacy

The insurgency in the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir has led to a notable transformation in the social roles of women, resulting in their increased involvement in both advocacy and the workforce. This idea is visible in half-widows, a term used for women whose husbands and sons have disappeared due to the insurgency by Indian security forces. These disappearances are a punishment for men who are seen as suspects, which is anyone that has affiliation with being a militant or crossing the border. These women have been forced to cope with personal loss due to turmoil, but have also found themselves driven to take on new roles as breadwinners, symbolizing the changing dynamics of women’s roles in Kashmiri society. The predominant theme in academic literature addressing women in conflict tends to uphold the stereotype that positions these women as helpless victims within a resistance movement predominantly guided by men. I argue against the notion that the insurgency has only led to the victimization of Kashmiri women. Instead, I offer a more nuanced analysis that highlights how half-widows in Kashmir have managed to carve a space for themselves in society. This provides them with room to be catalysts for resistance and justice, a role facilitated by the distinctive features of their identities.

Half-widows are women whose husbands are believed to have been abducted by Indian security forces or killed, but there is no confirmation of what may have happened to them. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act, commonly known as AFSPA, gives Indian security forces sweeping powers and has raised immense concerns about arbitrary arrests, torture, and a lack of accountability. The number of disappeared people, according to Osuri, is estimated to be “8,000 to 10,000” and these women have never found their husbands or sons.1 Half-widows face a unique set of challenges as they navigate their new lives in the absence of their husbands. Furthermore, there is no official confirmation of their husbands deaths, so these women face difficulties obtaining compensation and financial support. Many half-widows continue searching for their loved ones because they believe they will return.

From an academic standpoint, much has been centered around and reproduced about women and half-widows in Kashmir being victims to such an extent that the topic has become saturated. The dominant narrative portrays them as voiceless Muslim women victims. Despite the undeniable reality of women being victims in conflict situations, scholarly research needs to represent both halves of a half-widow’s identity, which is their struggle and resistance. According to Zia, the question is not, “Can the Kashmiri women speak?, but rather: Can you hear them?”2 These women are not quiet while waiting for their families to come back. Rather, they are constantly resisting and fighting for their husbands and sons to return. One of the ways half-widows have resisted the Indian occupation is through the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, or APDP. This organization actively advocates for putting an end to enforced disappearances. The APDP was founded in 1994 by Parveena Ahangar after her seventeen-year-old son had been arrested and then disappeared while in the custody of Indian forces. The highlight of the movement is a monthly sit-in on the tenth of each month, during which families of the disappeared come together to hold a public protest in Srinagar. During the monthly sit-in, these women publicly mourn, a practice traditionally confined to the privacy of their own homes. This event serves as a commemoration for the disappeared and a collective effort to seek answers from the state regarding the whereabouts of missing persons.

Their unique situation has made a space for them in society where they can advocate and demand justice. To find the disappeared men, women who once were homebound entered courts, prisons, morgues, and police stations, which, according to Zia, are places seen as masculine domains where they would not venture alone. The necessity for half-widows to enter these domains is a double-edged sword. On one side, it is empowering to politically mobilize for a good cause with other women. On the other side, their need for information, coupled with their vulnerable positions, opens the door to exploitation.

The experiences of half-widows in Kashmir raise important questions about the effectiveness of legal systems in protecting women affected by conflict which I believe directly correlate to the priority theme of CSW70 which is focusing on strengthening women’s access to justice and addressing barriers within legal institutions. For half-widows, justice is not simply about finding their disappeared husbands and sons, but also about holding those responsible accountable for their actions. Although these women have established a presence in society via their advocacy, their continued struggle and exploitation demonstrates how much remains to be done to ensure that women have access to justice and legal protection.

Themes: Enforced disappearances & access to legal accountability.

Notes

  1. Osuri, Goldie. “Reflections on Witnessing with the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, Kashmir.” Feminist Review, no. 119 (2018): 144–53.
  2. Zia, Ather. Resisting Disappearance: Military Occupation and Women’s Activism in Kashmir. First edition, 1–113. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2019.

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