Asif khan
Kashmir has been the home of conflict for decades, the people have been through the worse possible things, one can ever think of. Kashmir is a place where the land demands blood to yield crops. Yet, the people of Kashmir have time and again set great examples by their hospitality and helpful nature. The people who visit Kashmir from different parts of the world including India are testimonialto our character. Kashmir witnesses all four seasons at its proper times, all seasons with their unique and virginal beauty. The wine of delight and joy which we feed them makes them rethink of Kashmir and shun all the theories of media. Despite witnessing killings throughout the year, we bury the pain inside and move on to give visitors, the best time of their lives. We paint the carpets red with our blood and attend them like a new mother, which makes them sing:
“Gar firdaus bar-rue zamin ast, hami asto, hami ast”.
“If there is heaven on earth, it’s here, it’s here”.
Throughout history, women have been the worse sufferers in conflict zones. The tale of the Women living in, what is called the paradise on earth (Kashmir) is no different. Kashmiri women have been killed, raped, tortured and widowed. Their sons and husbands have been killed and disappeared in the on-going conflict. Women,very often become the targets of sexual violence in conflict areas. A study by Medecins sans Frontieres in 2005 stated that the rate of sexual violence against Kashmiri women was one of the highest among the world’s conflict zones. . It is really tough to be a woman, especially in conflict zones, where your existence is threatened each moment either by the oppressor or oppressed. The Oppressed turns into an Oppressor when it comes to revealing havoc upon women. Yet our brave heart women come out and stand head to head with their men, looking fearlessly into their eyes and make their presence felt by the feats, they achieve. Kashmiri women face threats from both the oppressor and the local men, their achievements should be acknowledged and they must be supported.
We are very well aware of what we make our women go through. They come out to study and earn like us but on returning home, they take back the luggage of dark memories with them. We hardly have any idea about her life, yet we become judges, the moment we see them. We go on making their life more miserable. I am amazed, how do our women gather the courage to come out again smilingly, not posing an ear to what people say and earn their living to support their family. This should give us an idea about the strength of our women. Our women have created their chances and capitalized upon them. She commands respect and we owe to respect her because only we can do it properly. Otherwise, someone else will pretend to do that under different feint banners, which in actual will only aim to maximize the gap between us. They invade the minds of our women with pseudo ideas of freedom, respect and women empowerment by which they tend to go against us. Though we may be the soldiers of the real cause but in rebuttal as expected, our women may be seen coming out at forefront in opposition to us. Throughout the history, women have presented immense sacrifices for the cause of their nation yet the male folk have ever given them the due credit and respect which they are deserve and desire. West surely can’t teach us to respect women. It is we, who need to look into the mirror and question ourselves. We all are well aware of the damage done to women by west. Though their concepts promised a lot to her but at the end, her condition got worse than her past. We have to step in show the world, how to respect a women and at the same time save her from different snares, imported from outside. Together, we make a good society and that’s how we can prosper. We have not been taking women with ourselves. Our women are rapacious for respect and acknowledgment and rightly so as they have proven their mettle time and again. So why not show them the respect they deserve?
([email protected] The writer is the author of the book prisoners of paradise and presently pursues his masters in mass communication and journalism Kashmir University. Views are his own)
