"A study done by Medecins Sans Frontieres in mid 2005 reveals that
Kashmiri women are among the worst sufferers of sexual violence in the world"
Wailing woes
Women in Kashmir suffer rape, molestation, kin's disappearances, psychological
trauma and torture, while the much-hyped slogan of Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh proclaiming 'zero tolerance' towards human rights abuse stares him in the
face!
Aaliya Anjum
nspite of the fact that the violations of human rights in Kashmir are in
direct disregard of the principles of international human rights and
humanitarian law including the Geneva Conventions and the protocols additional
thereto, no attention has been directed to address the issue at national and
international levels. An appropriate response is necessitated by the fact that
the violations of human rights in Kashmir's armed conflict have had a direct
bearing on its civilian population. Civilian victims, mostly women and
children, often outnumber casualties among the combatants [1]. But women suffer
in both differing and complex forms. They suffer directly by being subject to
rape, molestation and torture and others whose relations are subject to
atrocities suffer because of being related to them. It therefore becomes
imperative to try and analyse the impact that the past 18 years of conflict
have had on Kashmiri women. More so, because there needs to be an awareness and
understanding that armed conflict and its impact affect women physically,
psychologically, socially and economically [2]. The International Committee of
The Red Cross (ICRC) places the impact of armed conflict on women under eight
themes: Displacement, security, sexual violence, missing persons, detention,
access to medicare, access to food and other assistance and protection under
international humanitarian law [3].
Rape cases
A study done by Medecins Sans Frontieres in mid 2005 reveals that Kashmiri
women are among the worst sufferers of sexual violence in the world. It further
mentions that since the beginning of the armed struggle in Kashmir in 1989,
sexual violence has been routinely perpetrated on Kashmiri women, with 11.6 per
cent of respondents saying they were victims of sexual abuse. Interestingly,
the figure is much higher than that of Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Chechnya.
The state home department has no specific data in this regard for the last 17
years. This serves as a telling comment on the plight of women and on the
indifferent attitude of the state towards addressing the issue. Cases of rape
and molestation abound in Kashmir and many go unreported because of the fear of
social stigma, and of reprisal by state agencies. And even in those cases,
where the victims manage to transcend these fears and report the matter to
police, they achieve little or no justice. More often, police
refuses to lodge an FIR against the troops.
In Kunan Poshpora, a small village in Kashmir, the soldiers of fourth Rajputana
Rifles allegedly raped about 30 women on the night of February 23, 1991, during
a search operation while men were taken away from their homes and interrogated.
The ages of women raped ranged from 13 to 80 years. According to newspaper
reports, on June 17,1994, troops of Rashtriya Rifles accompanied by two
officers Major Ramesh and Major Rajkumar entered into village Hyhama and
allegedly raped and molested seven women. In another incident, troops raped a
mentally ill old woman in her house in Barbarshah in Srinagar on January 5,
1991. Medical reports confirmed rape and locals lodged an FIR with the
concerned police station, but the police did no investigation. She later died
in 1998 while the FIR still awaits action from the state government. In another
gruesome incident, an army Major in Badra, Handwara, raped Aisha, a 29-year-old
woman and her 10-year-old daughter, Shabnum. These being just a
few examples, incidents like these are plenty in Kashmir and ironically pass
unheeded for.
Due to immunity of troops from prosecution and their own court martial
proceedings, which are far from being unbiased, they are left free to do as
they please. Dr Maiti, a professor of political science at Rurdwa University,
West Bengal, explains, "Rape continues to be a major instrument of Indian
oppression against the Kashmiri people while the majority of victims are
civilians. This concept stands fortified by a report of ICRC dated March 6,
2001, where it has been mentioned that women are raped in order to humiliate,
frighten and defeat the enemy 'group' to which they belong. Rape in a war is
not merely a matter of chance; it is rather a question of power and control,
which is 'structured by male soldiers' notions of their masculine privilege, by
the strength of the military line of command and by class and ethnic
inequalities among women [4]. One of the reasons given by Radhika Coomaraswamy
for sexual violence in armed conflict is that violence against women may be
directed towards the social group of which she is a member because 'to rape a
woman is to humiliate her community'. Complex and combined emotions of hatred,
superiority, vengeance for real or imagined wrongs and national pride are
engendered and deliberately manipulated in armed conflict. For the men of the
community, rape encapsulates the totality of their defeat; they have failed to
protect their women [5]. The Special Rapporteur appointed by the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights in former Yugoslavia termed rape as not only as an
instrument of war but as a method of ethnic cleansing intended to humiliate,
shame, degrade and terrify the entire ethnic group [6].
A study done by Medecins Sans Frontieres in mid 2005 reveals that Kashmiri
women are among the worst sufferers of sexual violence in the world.
Interestingly, the figure is much higher than that of Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka
and Chechnya
The Geneva Convention related to The Protection of Civilian Persons In Times Of
War, 1949 and Additional Protocols of 1977 provide that women shall especially
be protected against humiliating and degrading treatment; rape, enforced
prostitution or any form of indecent assault [7]. The Vienna Declaration and
Programme Of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights in
Situations of Armed Conflict states that violations of human rights of women in
situations of armed conflict are violations of the fundamental principles of
international human rights and humanitarian law. Even though states are under
an obligation to make grave breaches of Geneva Conventions and protocols
additional thereto subject to the jurisdiction of their own courts and
punishable by severe penalties. The domestic courts do not peruse the law laid
down under the said convention for rape trials in conflict areas like Kashmir.
However, rape is not explicitly listed as a grave breach of Geneva
Convention, although acts willfully committed and causing great suffering or
causing grave injury to body or health do constitute breaches.
The fact that rape has been systematically committed against Kashmiri women and
that justice has not been delivered in these cases makes rape in Kashmir
eligible for an appropriate legal response at the international level. The
state has to be held for breach of its obligations under various relevant
treaties and customary international law.
The prosecution of individuals alleged to have committed rape should be done by
the international criminal tribunal on the precedent of Nuremberg as the
domestic courts and military court-martials have failed to deliver justice in
these matters and are motivated by a state centric approach [8]. The focus of
the tribunal should be to punish the wrongdoers, not on providing compensation
and support to the victim.
The International tribunals are unique in that, they can be established during
the continuation of the conflict and therefore they are untainted by the
notions of 'victors justice'. Prosecutions must be brought against the alleged
perpetrators and those higher up in the chain of command [9].
Rape is a grave crime as its consequences extend beyond the actual commission,
often lasting for the rest of the life of a woman [10]. The social stigma
associated with rape renders a raped woman unmarriageable, deprived of respect
in the society and traumatised for the rest of her life. In some cases women
become unacceptable even to their own families. The necessity to bring the
perpetrators of rapes in Kashmir to justice can be understood from the fact
that parties to conflict often rape as a tactic of war and terrorism [11].
Half-widows of the Valley
Enforced disappearance is one of the most harrowing consequences of the armed
conflict in Kashmir. During the last 18 years of conflict, the Association Of
Parents Of Disappeared Persons (APDP) [12], an organisation of the relatives of
people who have disappeared after custody, claims more than 10,000 people have
been subject to enforced disappearance by state agencies and were mostly picked
up by the troops. Of the disappeared persons, between 2000-2005 a majority were
married males. Although men have been subject to disappearance largely, but
women have been adversely affected because of being related to them as
daughters, mothers, sisters and wives. In the absence of any information about
the whereabouts of the disappeared men, their wives have acquired the title of
' half-widows'. These half-widows apart from other relatives of disappeared
persons are left without any entitlement to land, homes, inheritance, social
assistance and pensions. Most of these women also
suffer from harassment by
the troops.
Fahmeeda Bano, 37, lives in a remote Kashmir village of Kupwara and 14 years
back the Indian army picked up her husband. She has gone from pillar to post
searching for him but to no avail. She said, "If my husband is alive I want to
see him. I want authorities to tell me where he is. If he has been killed let
them hand over his body to me..."
The Indian government does not provide any relief to half-widows before the
expiry of seven years from the date of disappearance. And even after the
completion of seven years from the date of disappearance, they get either a
one-time grant ranging from US$1,000 and US$2,000 or a monthly pension of US$10
[13]. Further, a half-widow cannot remarry until the expiration of seven years
from the date of disappearance of her husband whose whereabouts must not be
known in these seven years. In the meantime, the right to her husband's
property are often threatened. Some widows, who intend to remarry, largely do
not find men who are willing to marry them. A study titled, 'Women And Children
Under The Armed Conflict In Kashmir' done by Prof A G Madhosh, a Kashmiri
educationist and activist, reveals that the migration of widows with their
children resulted in a sudden break in normal family life. Women had to assume
the roles of breadwinners for their families and the future of their
children became insecure.
Every month the members of APDP gather for a sit-in-protest at Central Park in
Srinagar. Their continuous protests should have served as a resonating alarm
for the authorities, but they seem to have turned a deaf ear to the woes of
these people. Fahmeeda Bano, 37, lives in a remote Kashmir village of Kupwara
and 14 years back the Indian army picked up her husband. She has gone from
pillar to post searching for him but to no avail. She said, "If my husband is
alive I want to see him. I want authorities to tell me where he is. If he has
been killed let them hand over his body to me. [14]"
Psychological Impact
With killings, torture, rapes, molestations, disappearances and detentions
becoming the order of the day in Kashmir, psychiatric disorders have seen a
sharp increase post-1989. In 1989, about 1,700 patients visited the valley's
lone psychiatric hospital and by the year 2003, the number had gone up to
48,000. Before the onset of the armed struggle, certain disorders that were not
known to Kashmiris started showing a significant presence amongst the civilian
population. The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD), one of the psychiatric
diseases, which was completely unrecognised before 1990 has witnessed a major
upsurge. Major Depressive Disorder (MDO) follows this. There are other mental
diseases like bipolar disorder, panic, phobia; general anxiety and sleep
disorders that have also shown four-fold increase as told by Dr Arshad of the
Psychiatric Diseases Hospital in Srinagar. Substance Use Disorder or drug
addiction and suicidal tendencies has been another repercussion of
the ongoing conflict in Kashmir. Dr Arshad further added that the patients who
come to seek help are largely in the productive age group of 25-30 years [15].
Dr Mushtaq Marghoob, a leading psychiatrist of the valley states that women
bear the brunt of every tragedy. They have to support the family after the
death of their husbands, fathers, sons or brothers. Dr Arshad further adds that
women form a major part of the patients who are suffering from PSTD (almost 50
per cent). For women whose husbands have died, psychotherapy has failed to
produce desired results.
A woman from Batmaloo, Srinagar saw the body of her brother who was killed in
custody by soldiers of the Indian army, the body had been split open and his
heart had been taken out. The shock rendered her in a state of disturbed
bereavement and PSTD ever since. According to Dr Marghoob, women have become
increasingly suicidal and are resorting to sleeping pills, injections and
inhalations [16]. Even though a large number of people visit the Psychiatric
Diseases Hospital in Srinagar, however, this is only a tip of the iceberg as
large numbers of patients visit hospitals at the district and sub-district
levels.
Nearly every person, particularly women, suffer from general anxiety and the
uncertainty pertaining to the security of their family members. This always
keep them in a state of unrest and anxiety. Even in their houses people are
harassed, beaten up or taken into custody by the troops. The fact that the
situation doesn't seem to get any better, doesn't promise a better mental state
of the civilian population, especially women, in Kashmir.
In past few years, murders, rapes, torture, custodial deaths, and enforced
disappearances have witnessed an upsurge, but the response of the state in
addressing these atrocities doesn't promise hope for justice. The official
figures of these atrocities are far too less than the reported ones. The
factual human rights situation in Kashmir has always been rendered invisible by
the national security concerns of the government and the state centric approach
of the Indian media [17]. Living in this environment of hopelessness, there are
people like Parveena who are still willing to give a tough fight to
powers-that-be. Parveena says, "I am determined to fight till my last breath,
with or without anyone's support". People like Parveena need to be lauded for
their determination.
It is being constantly projected in the mainstream media that the situation in
Kashmir has improved, but the ever-increasing rate of human rights violations
in the valley tell us a different story. People continue to suffer while the
much-hyped slogan of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proclaiming 'Zero Tolerance'
towards human rights abuse stares him hard in the face!
REFERENCES
UN Fourth World Conference On Women, Beijing-China, September 1995.
UN Commission on Human Rights; Sub Commission on the Promotion and
Protection Of Human Rights, Fifty Fifth Session, Item 6(a) of the provisional
agenda.
ICRC, March 6, 2001.
Christine Chinkin; Rape and Sexual Abuse of Women in International Law.
European Journal of International Law.
R Coomaraswamy; 'Of Kali Born; Violence and the Law in Sri Lanka'; In M
Schuler (ed), Freedom Of Violence; Women's Strategies from Around The World.
Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights,
Report pursuant to Commission Resolution 1992/S-1/1/ 0f 14 August 1992,
E/CN/4/1993/50/10 February 1993.
UN Fourth World Conference On Women; Beijing-China; Strategic Objective
144(C); Governments should fully respect norms of International Humanitarian
Law in armed conflicts and take all measures required for the protection of
women and children in particular against rape, forced prostitution and any
other form of indecent assault.
Strategic Objective 143(C), UN 4th World Conference On Women; Beijing-China,
Sept 1995: Governments should take action to investigate and punish members of
the police, security and armed forces and others who perpetrate acts of
violence against women, violations of humanitarian law and violations of the
human rights of women in situations of armed conflict.
In ' Re Yamashita' 327 USI, 6 Section 340 (United States Supreme Court 1946)
the accused was charged that as commander of the armed forces of JapanÂ…he
unlawfully disregarded and failed to discharge his duty as commander to control
the operations of the members of his command, permitting them to commit brutal
atrocities. Although Yamashita was not physically present during the commission
of the atrocities, he was found guilty.
The Supreme Court of India has ruled in a case that rape is a graver crime
than murder as murder kills a person only once, while rape kills a woman again
and again.
United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women; Beijing-China, September
1995; Action For Equality, Development and Peace.
Parveena Ahanger is the chairperson of APDP. Her son, Javed Ahmad Ahanger
(then 16), was picked up by troops on August 18, 1990. Since then she has not
heard of him. She says, " We are fighting to obtain just some information of
the whereabouts of our disappeared relatives. If they are alive, where are
they? If they are dead, their bod ies should be handed over to us.
The widows have to suffer severely due to economic constraints and despite
being entitled to government ex-gratis relief; they have to pay the concerned
officers to get their grant-study done by Prof A G Madhosh (Kashmiri
educationist).
Haroon Mirani, 'Kashmir's Half Widows Struggle For Fuller Life.'
Asia Jeelani, Turmoil And Trauma.
Ibid
John T, Contemporary South East Asia.
The author is a lawyer, HRLN, Srinagar, J&K
http://www.combatlaw.org/information.php?article_id=997&issue_id=36
With Regards
Abi
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