International Women’s Day is a worldwide event that celebrates women’s achievements – from the political to the social – while calling for gender equality.
It has been observed since the early 1900s and is now recognised each year on March 8. It is not affiliated with any one group, but brings together governments, women’s organisations, corporations and charities.
The day is marked around the world with arts performances, talks, rallies, networking events, conferences and marches.
On this International Women’s Day, It would be pertinent to highlight the women rights situation in Kashmir and draw attention of international community towards the same. Kashmiri women play a big role for achieving their rights and sustainable peace in the region.
Women in conflicts zones carry the heaviest burdens and bear the greatest weight of occupation and same is the case with Kashmiri women.
Women in Kashmir don’t enjoy the basic rights which are given under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and even promised under CEDAW (The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly described as an international bill of rights for women. This defines women rights and their fundamental freedom in the political, economic, social, cultural, and civil or any other sphere of life
Since 1989, more than ten thousand Kashmiri women have been gang raped and more than twenty two thousand have been widowed and thousands are living the lives of half widows whose husbands have disappeared and their fate remains unknown.
Women carry burden of murdered men as they are unable to earn livelihood for themselves and for their children in presence of about 800 thousand troops. Orphans have no access to good education and health facilities. These sufferings are not accidental but are being used as a tool to achieve military objectives such as spreading political terror, suppressing the voice of freedom, breaking the resistance against status quo etc. Kashmiri women since last seven decades are fighting for just cause and have given all these sacrifices for getting their basic rights and peace in their home
This is time when women around the world are putting their demands for full education, health care, security etc. Theme of international women day is ‘make it happen’ and indeed the brave women of Kashmir will not be intimidated by occupied troops For international community, the Kashmiri women are a forgotten chapter. If sexual assault against women is committed in other countries, the conscience of international community is jolted and it responds but when Kashmiri women are victimized their voices are hardly heard and addressed.
Kashmiri stories need to find place in media which will create awareness in different parts of world. Media should give voice to voiceless and highlight women’s condition and their role in Kashmir struggle by publishing the stories of women. Their issues have been forgotten over the globe and it needs to be raised once again with reference of International Day of Women.
Education, economy, technology and wisdom are needed to resolve such issues and to secure rights of Kashmiri women. This painful story needs to come to an end. A small army can defeat a big army but even a biggest army cannot defeat a nation.
An important ingredient in seeking sustainable peace is that the very people, who are affected, must be a part of the solution. In Kashmir, we don’t see women in conflict resolution and peace building process. Women as survivors, protectors, freedom fighters and peace builders, all should be documented in stakeholder analysis. There is need of inclusive security to bring women to peace talks.
Women are able to link the informal space at grass root to the decision maker. In North Ireland, South Africa, Guatemala, by inclusion of women, the quality of agreement and the chance of implementation improved. Collective action by women should be undertaken as a catalyst for peace.
GENDER DISCRIMINATION
Women face discrimination in almost all aspects of life but it is the least in education and healthcare whereas it is at peak in social behavior. As the sample population was diverse, variations in views and opinions exist. According to findings basically there are two mindsets in developing countries , the literate and the illiterate. The illiterate group believes that only boys should pursue education as they are they will grow up to be bread earners. People still believe that investing in the education of girls is a waste of resources.
The literate believe that girls should be educated and that they are entitled to better healthcare facilities. However when it comes to decision making, both groups are of the opinion that women are incapable of making decisions and therefore the men in their families fathers or husbands take decisions on their behalf. This shows that education has not completely changed the patriarchal mindset of the people in developing nations because not only men think that deciding the fate of the women in their family is their right but women also support this notion.
They still believe in the age old tradition that sons are a blessing while daughter is a burden. Male members of the family are given more importance in every aspect, even in basic things like food. Both boys and girls need approximately the same amount of nutrition but boys get to eat better food than girls. From the very beginning girls are taught that the needs of the men are more important and must be fulfilled. They are also raised in an environment where men are considered superior and control lives of women. Hence the feeling of inferiority and low self-esteem is deeply etched in the minds of women who then accept discrimination and abuse as a part of their lives and a norm of the society. Both literate and illiterate male respondents believe that women should observe purdah and should not go out alone. Very few people are in favor of women pursuing a career. According to the data the narrow minded views of people who claim to be an authority on religion are largely responsible for this discrimination; in the media too educated and modern women are portrayed as women with weak morals who later on suffer. These negative projections further reinforce restrictions on women and are used by me to justify discrimination.
