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#REDIRECT [[Human rights abuses in Kashmir]] |
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{{Violence against women}} |
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Since the onset of the [[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir|insurgency in Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir]], rape has been used as a weapon of war by Indian security forces; comprising the [[Indian Army|Indian Army,]]<ref>Chinkin, Christine. "Rape and sexual abuse of women in international law." ''[[European Journal of International Law]]'' 5.3 (1994): 327. <nowiki>''</nowiki>Numerous incidents of women raped in other international and internal armed conflicts can be cited to illustrate this point...women in Kashmir who have suffered rape and death under the administration of the Indian army.<nowiki>''</nowiki></ref> [[Central Reserve Police Force]] (CRPF) and [[Border Security Force|Border Security personnel]], against the Kashmiri population.<ref name=":4">Inger Skjelsbæk (2001) [[doi:10.1080/13533310108413896|Sexual violence in times of war: A new challenge for peace operations?]], International Peacekeeping, 8:2, 75-76.</ref><ref name="Frederick2001">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gU-6CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT101|title=Rape: Weapon of Terror|publisher=World Scientific|year=2001|isbn=978-981-4350-95-2|pages=101–|author=Sharon Frederick}}</ref><ref>[https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/INDIA935.PDF "RAPE IN KASHMIR: A Crime of War"] (PDF). ''Asia Watch & Physicians for Human Rights A Division of Human Rights Watch''. '''5''' (9): 6.</ref> The frequent rape of Kashmiri Muslim women by Indian state security forces routinely goes unpunished.<ref name="BakshHarcourt2015">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SupcBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA683|title=The Oxford Handbook of Transnational Feminist Movements|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2015|isbn=978-0-19-994349-4|pages=683–|author1=Rawwida Baksh|author2=Wendy Harcourt}}</ref> Many women have become victims of rape and sexual assault in the conflict. Separatist militants have also committed rape to some extent, although not comparable in scale with that by the Indian state forces.<ref>Kazi, Seema. [http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t343/e0165?_hi=0&_pos=1 ''Gender and Militarization in Kashmir'']. ''Oxford Islamic Studies Online''. Oxford University Press. <q>Sordid and gruesome as the militant record of violence against Kashmiri women and civilians is, it does not compare with the scale and depth of abuse by Indian State forces for which justice has yet to be done.</q></ref><ref name=":5" /><ref name="Kenney2013" /> |
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== Background == |
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In the aftermath of the rigged [[Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, 1987|1987 elections]] in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, where Islamic parties were prevented from winning several seats in the State Assembly,<ref>Amin, Tahir; Schofield, Victoria. [http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0433?_hi=3&_pos=48 Kashmir]. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford University Press. <nowiki>''The current phase of resistance against Indian rule began in 1987 when an alliance of several Islamic parties, the Muslim United Front (MUF), was expected to win several important seats in the state assembly elections but failed to win more than four seats, allegedly because of massive rigging. These elections proved the catalyst for a new phase of armed struggle against Indian rule. ''</nowiki></ref> a popular anti-Indian separatist movement gained momentum in the [[Kashmir Valley]], a territory disputed between India and Pakistan since 1947. To counter the insurgency, India militarised the Valley, deploying a huge amount of troops in the region. Opponents of Indian military occupation in the valley maintain that 600,000 troops are stationed throughout the state, which makes the region posses the highest ratio of troops to civilian population density in the world.<ref>[https://books.google.co.in/books?id=rkTetMfI6QkC Schofield, Kashmir in Conflict 2003], p. 168.</ref> Since January 1990, India allowed its forces to commit a number of human rights violations against civilians, including mass rape.<ref name="DwivediRajan20162" /> |
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== Rape as a weapon of war == |
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According to a report by [[Human Rights Watch]] in 1993, the security forces use rape as a method of retaliation against Kashmiri civilians during reprisal attacks after militant ambushes.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>Littlewood, Roland. “Military Rape.” ''[[Anthropology Today]]'', vol. 13, no. 2, 1997, pp. 7–16.</ref> Most rape cases, according to the same report, have occurred during cordon-and-search operations.<ref name=":1">[https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/INDIA935.PDF "Rape in Kashmir: A Crime of War"] (PDF). ''Asia Watch & Physicians for Human Rights A Division of Human Rights Watch''. '''5''' (9): 1.</ref> Scholar [[Inger Skjelsbæk|Inger Skhjelsbaek]] states that the pattern of rape in Kashmir is that soldiers enter the homes of civilians, kill or evict the men and then rape the women present.<ref name=":4" /> Scholar Shubh Mathur calls rape an essential element of the Indian military strategy in Kashmir.<ref name="Mathur20162" /> |
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According to scholar Seema Kazi, the motive of rape in Kashmir is no different to the rapes which were committed in Rwanda and the Balkans.<ref>Kazi, Seema. [http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t343/e0165?_hi=3&_pos=8 ''Kashmir, Gender and Militarization in'']. Oxford University Press. <q>In this respect the motive and intent of rape in Kashmir was no different from the Balkans and Rwanda, where rape functioned as a cultural weapon of war against women and against the community at large (Kesic, 2000)…Rape and sexual abuse is an integral part of the Indian counteroffensive in Kashmir</q></ref> According to Kazi, rape in Kashmir is a cultural weapon of war and the rape of [[Kashmiris|Kashmiri]] women by Indian security forces, in the context of a predominantly Hindu state repressing a Muslim minority population, functions as a tool of subordinating Kashmiri men and the Kashmiri community at large.<ref>Kazi, Seema. "[http://www.sociolegalreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Rape-Impunity-and-Justice-in-Kashmir.pdf Rape, Impunity and Justice in Kashmir.]" ''Socio-Legal Rev.'' 10 (2014): 27.</ref> Kazi also states that rape is used to demoralize the Kashmiri resistance and that there have been documented cases of soldiers confessing that they were ordered to rape women.<ref name=":2">Kazi, Seema. "[http://www.sociolegalreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Rape-Impunity-and-Justice-in-Kashmir.pdf Rape, Impunity and Justice in Kashmir]." ''Socio-Legal Rev.'' 10 (2014): 29.</ref><ref name="MatosWard2012">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f9xB4JKOfvYC&pg=PA229|title=Gender, Power, and Military Occupations: Asia Pacific and the Middle East since 1945|first=|date=27 April 2012|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=|isbn=978-1-136-33934-9|location=|pages=229–|quote=These record a pattern of rape by soldiers who often claim to be following orders.|author1=Christine De Matos|author2=Rowena Ward}}</ref> |
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Professor William Baker stated at the 52nd United Nations Commission on Human Rights that rape in Kashmir was not the result of a few undisciplined soldiers but an active strategy of the security forces to humiliate and intimidate the Kashmiri population.<ref name=":6">Ranjan, Amit. "[http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0049085715589471 A Gender Critique of AFSPA: Security for Whom?]." ''Social Change'' 45.3 (2015): 447.</ref> He cited as evidence his interviews with several rape victims who were raped by soldiers in front of their families, including husbands and children.<ref>Kazi, Seema (2014). [http://www.sociolegalreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Rape-Impunity-and-Justice-in-Kashmir.pdf "Rape, Impunity And Justice In Kashmir"] (PDF). ''Socio-Legal Review''. '''10''': 28.</ref> An [[Amnesty International]] report in 1992 stated that rape in Kashmir was a systematic attempt to humiliate the local population during counter-insurgency operations.<ref name="GangulyGanguly2004">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rz4bJ3ejsisC&pg=PA47|title=The Kashmir Question: Retrospect and Prospect|date=1 March 2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-75658-1|pages=47–|author1=Rabindranath Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations Sumit Ganguly|author2=Sumit Ganguly}}</ref> |
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== Extent == |
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A study in 2005 by [[Médecins Sans Frontières]] concluded that Kashmiri women are among the worst sufferers of sexual violence in the world, with 11.6% of respondents in the survey saying they had been sexually abused. The study also found that the number of people who had witnessed a rape in Kashmir was far higher than other conflict zones such as Chechnya, Sierra Lone and Sri Lanka.<ref name="Deb2015">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BvpUCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA90|title=Child Safety, Welfare and Well-being: Issues and Challenges|date=5 August 2015|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-81-322-2425-9|pages=90–|author=Sibnath Deb}}</ref> 13% of responents reported having witnessed a rape since 1989, and 63% reported having heard about rape since that year. 59.9% of respondents had heard of more than 5 rapes and 5.1% of respondents had themselves witnessed more than five rapes.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131108061947/http://www.artsenzondergrenzen.nl/pdf/KASHMIRFINALVERSION221106.pdf "Médecins Sans Frontières – Kashmir: Violence and Health"] (PDF). Archived from [http://www.artsenzondergrenzen.nl/pdf/KASHMIRFINALVERSION221106.pdf the original] (PDF) on 8 November 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2013.</ref><ref name=":5">Kazi, Seema. "[http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals%2Fsoclerev10&div=6&id&page Rape, Impunity and Justice in Kashmir]." ''Socio-Legal Rev.'' 10 (2014): 22–23.</ref> According to scholars Rawwida Baksh and Wendy Harcourt, the high rate of sexual violence in Kashmir is little known internationally.<ref name="BakshHarcourt2015" /> Scholar Dara Kay Cohen lists the conflict in Kashmir among the worst of the so-called mass rape wars including Bosnia and Rwanda.<ref>Cohen, Dara Kay. "[https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/Cohen_APSR.pdf Explaining rape during civil war: Cross-national evidence (1980–2009).]" ''American Political Science Review'' 107.03 (2013): 467.</ref> |
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According to Human Rights Watch:<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/INDIA935.PDF "Rape in Kashmir: A Crime of War"] (PDF). ''Asia Watch & Physicians for Human Rights A Division of Human Rights Watch''. '''5''' (9): 3.</ref><blockquote>There are no reliable statistics on the number of rapes committed by security forces in Kashmir. Human rights groups have documented many cases since 1990, but because many of the incidents have occurred in remote villages, it is impossible to confirm any precise number. There can be no doubt that the use of rape is common and routinely goes unpunished.</blockquote> Many cases are not reported because of the shame and stigma associated with rape in Kashmir.<ref>Kazi, Seema. "[http://www.sociolegalreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Rape-Impunity-and-Justice-in-Kashmir.pdf Rape, Impunity and Justice in Kashmir]." ''Socio-Legal Rev.'' 10 (2014): 20.</ref> Human rights groups state that 150 top officers, of the rank of major or above, have participated in torture as well as sexual violence and that the Indian government was covering up such acts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/16/wikileaks-cables-indian-torture-kashmir#comments|title=WikiLeaks cables: India accused of systematic use of torture in Kashmir|last=Burke|first=Jason|date=16 December 2010|publisher=|via=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/12/indian-forces-kashmir-accused-human-rights-abuses-coverup|title=Indian forces in Kashmir accused of human rights abuses cover-up|last=Burke|first=Jason|date=11 September 2015|publisher=|via=The Guardian}}</ref> |
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== Notable cases of rape by Indian security forces == |
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The following is a list of some of the notable rape cases, committed by Indian security forces, in the conflict.<ref name=":9">Kazi, Seema. "[http://www.sociolegalreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Rape-Impunity-and-Justice-in-Kashmir.pdf Rape, Impunity and Justice in Kashmir]." ''Socio-Legal Rev.'' 10 (2014): 21-23.</ref> |
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* Jamir Qadeem (1990): On June 26 1990, a twenty-four year old woman from Jamir Qadeem was raped during a search of her neighbourhood by the BSF. Police in Sopore registered a case against the BSF in July of that year. |
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* Anantnag (1990) |
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* Chhanpora (1990): On March 7, CRPF raided several houses in the Chhanpora locality of Srinagar. During the raids a number of women were raped. The 'Committee for Initiative in Kashmir' which visited the Valley between March 12 to 16, 1990 interviewed the victims. Rape victim Noora (24) was forcefully dragged out of her kitchen by 20 men from the CRPF and raped, along with her sister-in-law Zaina. The rape victims also witnessed two minor girls being molested.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/129070/18/12_chapter%205.pdf|title=CHAPTER-V PROBLEM OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR|last=|first=|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=224}}</ref> |
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* Panzgam (1990) |
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* Trehgam (1990) |
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* [[Kunan Poshpora incident|Kunan Poshpora]] (1991): On February 23, 1991, a unit of the [[Indian army]] launched a search and interrogation operation in the twin villages of Kunan Poshpora, in the Valley's Kupwara district. Soldiers repeatedly gang-raped many women, with estimates of the number of victims ranging from 23 to 100. |
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* Pazipora-Ballipora (1991):<ref name="Mathur20162">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PeYdCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT60|title=The Human Toll of the Kashmir Conflict: Grief and Courage in a South Asian Borderland|date=1 February 2016|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US|isbn=978-1-137-54622-7|pages=60–|author=Shubh Mathur}}</ref> On 20 August 1991 soldiers carried out mass rape in this hamlet, which is only a few kilometres away from Kunan Poshpora. The number of rape victims in this case varied between eight to fifteen or more. |
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* Chak Saidpora (1992): On October 10, 1992, an army unit of the 22nd Grenadiers entered the village of Chak Saidapora. Several army soldiers gang-raped between six to nine women, including an 11 year old girl and a 60 year old woman.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/INDIA935.PDF "Rape in Kashmir: A Crime of War"] (PDF). ''Asia Watch & Physicians for Human Rights A Division of Human Rights Watch''. '''5''' (9): 8.</ref> |
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* Haran (1992): On July 20, 1992 women were raped during an army search operation. One victim, interviewed by Asia Watch and PHR, reported being gang-raped by two soldiers in turns. Another victim in the same incident was raped by a Sikh soldier while another stood guard.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/INDIA935.PDF "Rape in Kashmir: A Crime of War"] (PDF). ''Asia Watch & Physicians for Human Rights A Division of Human Rights Watch''. '''5''' (9): 12.</ref> |
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* Hyhama (1994): On June 17, 1994, seven women were raped by troops of Rashtriya Rifles, including two officers Major Ramesh and Raj Kumar in the village Hyhama.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.countercurrents.org/kashmir-hashmi310307.htm|title=Conflict Rape Victims: Abandoned And Forgotten|last=Hashmi|first=Syed Junaid|date=31 March 2007|website=Counter Currents|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> |
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* Gurihakhar: On October 1, 1992, after killing ten people in the hamlet of Bakhikar, BSF forces entered the nearby village of Gurihakhar and raped women. One woman, interviewed by Asia Watch, tried to hide her daughter's identity as a rape victim by describing herself as the rape victim, to protect her daughter from public humiliation.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/INDIA935.PDF "Rape in Kashmir: A Crime of War"] (PDF). ''Asia Watch & Physicians for Human Rights A Division of Human Rights Watch''. '''5''' (9): 13.</ref> |
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* Kangan (1994): A woman and her 12 year old daughter were raped by Indian security forces at Theno Budapathary.<ref>Bhat, Aashaq Hussain, and R. Moorthy. [http://oaji.net/articles/2016/1170-1479315533.pdf "Impact of Security Provisions in Kashmir]." (2016).</ref> |
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* Wavoosa (1997): On 22 April 1996, several Indian armed forces personnel entered the house of a 32 year old woman in the village of Wavoosa. They molested her 12 year old daughter and raped three other daughters, aged 14, 16 and 18. Another woman was beaten for preventing the rape of her daughters by soldiers.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131029043337/http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA20/024/1997/en/15411f3b-ea77-11dd-b05d-65164b228191/asa200241997en.pdf "India: High Time to Put an End to Impunity in Jammu and Kashmir"] (PDF). 15 May 1997. Archived from [https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA20/024/1997/en/15411f3b-ea77-11dd-b05d-65164b228191/asa200241997en.pdf the original] (PDF) on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2010.</ref> |
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* Doda (1998): A fifty year old resident of the villlage Ludna in Doda district told Human Rights Watch that on October 5, 1998 the Eighth Rashtriya Rifles came to her house, took her and beat her. She was then raped by a captain who was a Hindu and said to her: "You are Muslims, and you will all be treated like this."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/kashmir/doda.htm#P187_42784|title=Under Siege: Doda and the Border Districts|last=|first=|date=|website=Human Rights Watch|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> |
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* Bihota (2000): On 29 October 2000, there was a cordon and search operation in Bihota by the 15 Bihar Regiment. during which one woman was picked up and taken away to a camp. The following day twenty women went a long with a few men to get the woman released. However, the women were detained for four to five hours and sexually assaulted.<ref name=":9" /> |
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* Pahalgam (2002) |
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* Zachaldara (2004) |
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* [[2009 Shopian rape and murder case|Shopian]] (2009): Two women, Asiya and Nelofar Jan, were abducted, raped and murdered by Indian troops between 29 and 30 May at Bongam in Kashmir's Shopian district. |
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* Gujjardara-Manzgam (2011) |
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== Aftermath == |
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=== Prosecution === |
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Kazi notes that the Indian government has never made public any prosecution or punishment of personnel responsible for sexual crimes against Kashmiri women. Furthermore, of all the human rights violations in Kashmir rape has drawn the least investigations and prosecutions.<ref name=":3">Kazi, Seema. "[http://www.sociolegalreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Rape-Impunity-and-Justice-in-Kashmir.pdf Rape, Impunity and Justice in Kashmir]." ''Socio-Legal Rev.'' 10 (2014): 25-26.</ref> Human Rights Watch also highlighted the fact in its 1993 report that despite the evidence of widespread sexual violence perpetrated by the Indian army and paramilitary forces few of the incidents were ever investigated by the authorities and no prosecution of alleged rapists ever occurred.<ref name=":3" /> |
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According to Kazi, this indicates tolerance, if not official consent, of the State to such crimes.<ref name=":2" /> According to Mathur, the Indian government provides legal immunity to its personnel who are accused of rape.<ref name="Mathur2016">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PeYdCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT63|title=The Human Toll of the Kashmir Conflict: Grief and Courage in a South Asian Borderland|date=1 February 2016|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US|isbn=978-1-137-54622-7|pages=63–|author=Shubh Mathur}}</ref> [[Inger Skjelsbæk|Skhjelsbaek]] states that the denial of rape by Indian authorities is systematic and the lack of prosecution allows acts of sexual violence to be perpetrated with impunity in Kashmir.<ref name=":4" /> Christine De Matos and Rowena Ward have observed that the official cover-ups follow a pattern of labelling the victims as 'militant sympathisers' and persecuting human rights activists and medical personnel who try to assist the rape victims.<ref name="MatosWard2012" /> |
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According to scholars Om Prakash Dwivedi and V. G. Julie Rajan, the [[Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act|Armed Forces Special Powers Act]] (AFSPA) has enabled the Indian military and security personnel to commit war crimes with impunity, which would otherwise be tried in the International Criminal Court (ICC).<ref name="DwivediRajan2016">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NCjCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA11|title=Human Rights in Postcolonial India|date=26 February 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-31012-9|pages=11–|author1=Om Prakash Dwivedi|author2=V. G. Julie Rajan}}</ref> The Indian military was given special powers under AFSPA in Kashmir in July 1990. Human rights groups criticize this law, stating it gives immunity to armed forces personnel who have committed crimes.<ref>Egyesült, Államok (2008). ''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2007''. House, Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations. p. 2195. [[International Standard Book Number|ISBN]] [[Special:BookSources/9780160813993|9780160813993]].</ref> Kashmiris who need to go to court to press charges against security forces for human rights violations are required to first seek the permission of the Indian government. According to Kazi, such permission is <nowiki>'never forthcoming'. The legislation has been described as “hated” and “draconian''</nowiki> by members of [[Jammu & Kashmir Human Rights Commission|Kashmir's State Human Rights Commission]].<ref>Kazi, Seema (2014). [http://www.sociolegalreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Rape-Impunity-and-Justice-in-Kashmir.pdf "Rape, Impunity And Justice In Kashmir"] (PDF). ''Socio-Legal Review''. '''10''': 30.</ref> The local judiciary in Kashmir is unable to function normally because of the privileges granted to the security forces.<ref>Kazi, Seema. "[http://www.sociolegalreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Rape-Impunity-and-Justice-in-Kashmir.pdf Rape, Impunity and Justice in Kashmir]." ''Socio-Legal Rev.'' 10 (2014): 33.</ref><ref>Ranjan, Amit. "A Gender Critique of AFSPA: Security for Whom?." ''Social Change'' 45.3 (2015): 440-457.</ref> |
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Khurram Parvez remarks that women fear reprisals from the Army to file the cases of rape. He says, "this is because there are cases in which when rape was reported, members of their families were attacked or prosecuted." He also states that it would be technically very difficult to prove rape, since the incidents happen in the areas which are completely under the Army’s control.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news|url=https://scroll.in/article/812010/do-you-need-700000-soldiers-to-fight-150-militants-kashmiri-rights-activist-khurram-parvez|title='Do you need 700,000 soldiers to fight 150 militants?': Kashmiri rights activist Khurram Parvez|last=Ashraf|first=Ajaz|work=Scroll.in|access-date=2017-04-21|language=en-US}}</ref> |
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Dwivedi and Rajan point out that India has been able to commit crimes against humanity, such as mass rape, with impunity in Kashmir because of its alliance with permanent members in the UNSC, such as the USA, and also because it is not part of the ICC. India refuses to join the ICC by contending that its own judicial system is competent enough to address war crimes, but law expert Usha Ramanathan labels this argument misleading.<ref name="DwivediRajan20162">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NCjCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA11|title=Human Rights in Postcolonial India|date=26 February 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-31012-9|pages=11–|author1=Om Prakash Dwivedi|author2=V. G. Julie Rajan}}</ref> |
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=== Reactions === |
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The Indian authorities have denied the charges, when confronted with the evidence of rape.<ref name=":8" /> |
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According to Kazi, the Indian media has <nowiki>''displayed unseemly haste in exonerating security forces''</nowiki> from rape allegations.<ref>Kazi, Seema. "[http://www.sociolegalreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Rape-Impunity-and-Justice-in-Kashmir.pdf Rape, Impunity and Justice in Kashmir]." ''Socio-Legal Rev.'' 10 (2014): 38-39.</ref> In 2016, JNU student union president [[Kanhaiya Kumar]] became the centre of controversy after speaking out on the rape of women in Kashmir by Indian security forces. The [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]] youth wing filed a complaint against him, calling him 'anti-national'.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/in-kashmir-women-are-raped-by-security-personnel-says-kanhaiya/|title=In Kashmir, women are raped by security personnel: Kanhaiya Kumar|date=2016-03-09|work=The Indian Express|access-date=2017-04-19|language=en-US}}</ref> |
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Human Rights Watch stated in its 1993 report that the common use of rape by Indian security forces in the conflict drew little international condemnation, despite reports in the international press and by Indian human rights groups.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/INDIA935.PDF "Rape in Kashmir: A Crime of War"] (PDF). ''Asia Watch & Physicians for Human Rights A Division of Human Rights Watch''. '''5''' (9): 2.</ref> According to Amit Ranjan, the Indian state has always sided with the perpetrators and not the rape victims<ref>Ranjan, Amit. "A [http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0049085715589471 Gender Critique of AFSPA: Security for Whom?]." ''Social Change'' 45.3 (2015): 446.</ref> and Indian society is generally not disturbed by rapes in Kashmir due to Kashmiri Muslims being considered the 'other'.<ref>Ranjan, Amit. "[http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0049085715589471 A Gender Critique of AFSPA: Security for Whom?]." ''Social Change'' 45.3 (2015): 450. <nowiki>''</nowiki>Against such a background, it is difficult to garner solidarity over the issue of rapes in India....The feeling of otherness is strong in Indian society, which is socially, culturally and religiously based on the practice of discrimination against the outsider....Muslims, especially from Kashmir, in the popular imagination, are seen as the ‘other’, so if anything untoward happens in these areas, it does not disturb the popular definition of ‘security’.<nowiki>''</nowiki></ref> At the same time, Ranjan says that the Kashmir Valley's disputed status between India and Pakistan has given it the advantage of some international attention.<ref name=":6" /> Former Pakistani Prime Minister, [[Benazir Bhutto]], in her address to the [[Fourth World Conference on Women|Fourth World Conference on Women at Beijing in 1995]], called the use of rape as a weapon of war in Jammu and Kashmir <nowiki>''reprehensible'' and ''depraved''</nowiki>.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.un.org/esa/gopher-data/conf/fwcw/conf/gov/950904202603.txt|title=95-09-04: Statement by Pakistan, HE Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> |
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According to journalist Syed Junaid Hashmi, both separatists and mainstream political parties in Kashmir have ignored the rape victims.<ref name=":0" /> Journalists [[Eric Margolis]] and Isaac Zolton have reported on refugee women in Azad Kashmir who were raped by Indian soldiers before they fled Indian administered Kashmir.<ref name="Margolis2004">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FQGUAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA80|title=War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir and Tibet|date=23 November 2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-95559-5|pages=80–|author=Eric Margolis}}</ref><ref>Istvan, Zoltan (13 March 2003). [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/03/0313_030313_tvpakirefugees_2.html "Refugee Crisis Worsening In Western Kashmir"]. ''National Geographic''. Retrieved 15 January 2017.</ref> |
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Studies have shown that nationalist resistance in Kashmir has been heightened because of sexual assaults and other atrocities Kashmiri women have experienced, mostly at the hands of Indian security forces.<ref name="Kenney2013">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gTptAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA156|title=Islam in the Modern World|first=|date=15 August 2013|publisher=Routledge|year=|isbn=978-1-135-00795-9|location=|pages=156–|quote=Studies on women's lives in contemporary Kashmir show how nationalist resistance has been heightened due to the sexual assaults, displacements and loss of life suffered by Kashmiri women, primarily at the hands of Indian security forces.|author=Jeffrey T. Kenney}}</ref> |
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== Rape by militants == |
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{{See also|Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir| Ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus}} |
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According to the 1993 Human Rights Watch report, rape by militants is less common but increased in frequency over the years.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=|title=Rape In Kashmir: A Crime of War|url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/INDIA935.PDF|journal=Asia Watch & Physicians for Human Rights A Division of Human Rights Watch|volume=5|issue=9|page=4|=}}</ref> A 2010 US state department report blamed separatist insurgents in Kashmir and other parts of the country of committing several serious abuses, including the killing of security personnel as well as civilians, and of engaging in widespread torture, rape, beheadings, kidnapping, and extortion.<ref name="USgov2010">{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/sca/154480.htm|title=2010 Human Rights Reports: India|publisher=State.gov|accessdate=2012-03-10}}</ref> |
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Some incidents of rape by militants appear to have been motivated by the fact that the victims or their families are accused of being informers or of being opposed to the militants or supporters of rival militant groups.<ref name=":82" /> |
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In 1989, attacks on Pandits escalated and Muslim insurgents selectively raped, tortured and killed Kashmiri Pandits, burnt their temples, idols and holy books. The Pandits fled en masse from the state after which their houses were burnt by militants and their artwork and sculptures were destroyed.<ref name="Knuth2006">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=67CWswHay3QC&pg=PA77|title=Burning books and leveling libraries: extremist violence and cultural destruction|last=Knuth|first=Rebecca|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2006|isbn=978-0-275-99007-7|pages=77–79|accessdate=15 March 2012}}</ref> |
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According to Human Rights Watch, despite threats by Islamist groups to women since 1990, reports of rape by militants were rare in the early years of the conflict. Since 1991, reports of rape by Islamic miltants have increased. In some cases, women have been raped and then killed after being abducted by rival militant groups and held as hostages for their male relatives. In other cases, members of armed militant groups have abducted women after threatening to shoot the rest of the family unless she is handed over to a militant leader. Local people sometimes refer to these abductions and rapes as "forced marriages".<ref name=":82">{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=|title=Rape In Kashmir: A Crime of War|url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/INDIA935.PDF|journal=Asia Watch & Physicians for Human Rights A Division of Human Rights Watch|volume=5|issue=9|page=15|=}}</ref> |
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A 1992 case of rape and murder by militants attracted publicity in part because the incident provoked street protests condemning the militants for the crimes.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=|title=Rape In Kashmir: A Crime of War|url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/INDIA935.PDF|journal=Asia Watch & Physicians for Human Rights A Division of Human Rights Watch|volume=5|issue=9|page=16|=}}</ref> |
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According to the Human Rights Watch, the rape victims of militants suffer ostracism and there is a "code of silence and fear" that prevents people from reporting such abuse. According to the Human Rights Watch, the investigation of case of rape by militants is difficult because many Kashmiris are reluctant to discuss it for the fear of violent reprisals.<ref name="HumanRightsCrisis" /> The increase in number of rape cases has resulted in an increased number of abortions, leading in one case to murder of a doctor. The doctor was accused of being an informer by the Islamic militant groups [[Hizbul Mujahideen]] and Al Jehad.<ref name="HumanRightsCrisis" /> |
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=== Notable cases === |
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* In March 1990, Mrs. M. N. Paul, the wife of a BSF inspector was kidnapped, tortured and gang-raped for many days. Then her body with broken limbs was abandoned on a road.<ref name="Joshi1999">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pS5uAAAAMAAJ|title=The Lost Rebellion|date=January 1999|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-027846-0|author=Manoj Joshi}}</ref>{{rp|64}} |
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* On April 14, 1990, Sarla Bhat (27), a Kashmiri Pandit nurse from the [[Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences|Soura Medical College Hospital]] in Srinagar was gang-raped and then beaten to death. [[Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front]] (JKLF) took responsibility for the crime, accusing Bhat of informing the police about the presence of militants in the hospital.<ref name="HumanRightsCrisis">[https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/INDIA937.PDF The Human Rights Crisis in Kashmir]. Asia Watch, a division of [[Human Rights Watch]]. Lat accessed on 10 March 2012. Also published as a book: {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X0QQx5ObGysC&pg=PA154|title=The Human rights crisis in Kashmir: a pattern of impunity|publisher=Human Rights Watch|year=1993|isbn=978-1-56432-104-6|page=154|author1=Asia Watch Committee (U.S.)|author2=Human Rights Watch (Organization)|author3=Physicians for Human Rights (U.S.)|accessdate=10 March 2012}}</ref><ref name="rediff_2005">{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/19kanch.htm|title=19/01/90: When Kashmiri Pandits fled Islamic terror|date=19 January 2005|publisher=rediff|accessdate=10 March 2012}}</ref> |
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* On 6 June 1990, Girija Tickoo, a lab assistant at the Government Girls High School Trehgam, was kidnapped and gang raped for many days. Then she was sliced at a [[sawmill]].<ref name="Butalia2002">{{cite book|title=Speaking peace: women's voices from Kashmir|publisher=Zed Books|year=2002|isbn=978-1-84277-209-6|page=187|author=Urvashi Butalia}}</ref> |
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* Prana Ganjoo was abducted with her husband in Sopore. She was gang-raped for a number of days before the both were killed in November 1990.<ref name="MarwahIndia)1997">{{cite book|title=Uncivil wars: pathology of terrorism in India|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-81-7223-251-1|page=381|author1=Ved Marwah|author2=Centre for Policy Research (New Delhi, India)}}</ref> |
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* On 30 March 1992, armed militants demanded food and shelter from the family of the retired truck driver Sohanlal (60) in Nai Sadak, Kralkhud. The family complied, but the militants raped Sohanlal's daughter Archana. When he and his wife tried to stop them, Sohanlal was shot dead. His elderly wife was also raped. Then both the women were also shot dead.<ref name="HumanRightsCrisis" /> |
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Journalist Prakriiti Gupta writes that there have been many cases of militants raping the young girls by forcing them into temporary marriages ([[Nikah mut‘ah|mutah]] in Islamic law) – these ceremonies are called "command marriages".<ref name="married-to-brutality">{{cite news|url=http://archive.deccanherald.com/Deccanherald/feb242006/she1749442006223.asp|title=Married to brutality|date=25 February 2006|publisher=Deccan Herald|accessdate=10 March 2012}}</ref> |
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* In January 1991, Zarifa, daughter of Mohammed Sultan was forcibly asked to "marry" a militant. Her brother Bashir Ahmed was killed when the family refused, and the girl was taken away.<ref name="Joshi1999" />{{rp|91}} |
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* Shamima Ansari was forced to marry a Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Farooq Ansari in Kishtwar in 2000. |
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* In 2005, a 14-year-old Gujjar girl Roubia Kousar was abducted from Lurkoti village by the Lashkar-e-Taiba militants, and forced to marry one of them. She was gang-raped by her "husband" and his militant friends.<ref name="married-to-brutality" /> |
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* In December 2005, 15-year-old Zaitoon Bano of Bajoni (Doda district) was forced to marry a [[Hizb-ul-Mujahideen]] militant Nazir Ahmed, after her family was threatened with death.<ref name="married-to-brutality" /> |
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== See also == |
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* [[Kunan Poshpora incident|Kunan Poshpora]] |
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* [[2009 Shopian rape and murder case|Shopian Incident]] |
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* [[Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir]] |
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* [[Kashmir conflict]] |
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== References == |
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{{reflist|30em}} |
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== Bibliography == |
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{{Refbegin|30em}} |
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* Chinkin, Christine. "Rape and sexual abuse of women in international law." ''[[European Journal of International Law]]'' 5.3 (1994) |
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* Christine De Matos; Rowena Ward (27 April 2012). ''Gender, Power, and Military Occupations: Asia Pacific and the Middle East since 1945''. Taylor & Francis |
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*Cohen, Dara Kay. Explaining rape during civil war: Cross-national evidence (1980–2009). ''American Political Science Review'' 107.03 (2013): 461-477. |
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* Inger Skjelsbæk (2001) Sexual violence in times of war: A new challenge for peace operations?, ''International Peacekeeping'', 8:2, |
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* Kazi, Seema. ''Gender and Militarization in Kashmir''. ''Oxford Islamic Studies Online''. Oxford University Press. |
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* Kazi, Seema. "Rape, Impunity and Justice in Kashmir." ''Socio-Legal Rev.'' 10 (2014). |
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*Jeffrey T. Kenney (15 August 2013). ''Islam in the Modern World.'' Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-00795-9. |
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* Littlewood, Roland. “Military Rape.” ''[[Anthropology Today]]'', vol. 13, no. 2, 1997 |
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* Om Prakash Dwivedi; V. G. Julie Rajan (26 February 2016). ''Human Rights in Postcolonial India''. Routledge. [[International Standard Book Number|ISBN]] [[Special:BookSources/978-1-317-31012-9|978-1-317-31012-9]]. |
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* Rabindranath Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations Sumit Ganguly; Sumit Ganguly (1 March 2004). ''The Kashmir Question: Retrospect and Prospect''. Routledge. |
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* Ranjan, Amit. "A Gender Critique of AFSPA: Security for Whom?." ''Social Change'' 45.3 (2015) |
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* Rawwida Baksh; Wendy Harcourt (2015). ''The Oxford Handbook of Transnational Feminist Movements.'' Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-994349-4. |
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* Sharon Frederick (2001). ''Rape: Weapon of Terror''. World Scientific. [[International Standard Book Number|ISBN]] [[Special:BookSources/978-981-4350-95-2|978-981-4350-95-2]]. |
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* Shubh Mathur (1 February 2016). ''The Human Toll of the Kashmir Conflict: Grief and Courage in a South Asian Borderland''. Palgrave Macmillan US. [[International Standard Book Number|ISBN]] [[Special:BookSources/978-1-137-54622-7|978-1-137-54622-7]]. |
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* ''Sibnath Deb (5 August 2015). Child Safety, Welfare and Well-being: Issues and Challenges.'' Springer. |
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== Further reading == |
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* Kazi, Seema. ''In Kashmir: gender, militarization, and the modern nation-state''. South End Press, 2010. |
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* Shekhawat, Seema. ''Gender, Conflict and Peace in Kashmir''. Cambridge University Press, 2014. |
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* Shekhawat, Seema, ed. ''Female Combatants in Conflict and Peace: Challenging Gender in Violence and Post-Conflict Reintegration''. Springer, 2015. |
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[[Category:Rape in India]] |
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[[Category:Kashmir]] |
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[[Category:Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir]] |
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[[Category:Human rights abuses in India]] |
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[[Category:Sexual abuse]] |
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[[Category:Controversies in India]] |
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[[Category:Kashmir conflict]] |
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Revision as of 15:27, 23 April 2017
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