Every year march 8th march is celebrated as International Women’s Day all across the world. The main aim of the celebration of International Women’s Day is to educate and aware people about the importance of women and gender equality in today’s is fast changing world. It also aims to empower women and save them from violence and crimes perpetrated against them by materialistic criminals and wild men. Few days ago, the people in a Muslim dominated Kashmir valley also celebrated the international women’s day with great fervour, pomp and show. People were feeling proud in sharing messages about the International women’s day on social media platforms particularly on Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, messenger etc. Seminars, symposiums, campaigns, debates and discussions were conducted all across the valley about women rights, reservations, empowerment and safety measures against violence and crimes but it was the same international women’s day celebration in the Kashmir valley, when our young sister Arifa Shafi from the Soibugh village of Budgam district faced her body sharp edged tile cutter machine at the hands of a criminal Shabir Ahmad Wani from Ompora Budgam. It was the same day, when Arifa Shafi and all other women were expecting women empowerment, rights, reservations, and protection and safety measures against heinous violence and crimes. It was the same international women’s day, when many other women in Kashmir valley also faced harassment, violence, abuse and crimes. The murder of Soibugh Budgam innocent Arifa Shafi was the first gruesome murder in the history of India and Jammu and Kashmir when a criminal used a sharp edged tile cutter machine to cut the body of an innocent girl into multiple pieces and buried them at different locations. Wild animals like a leopard, tigers also respect their prey while cutting and eating the body of their prey. They eat only small portions like intestines of the body of prey to satisfy their basic requirement of food and leave all other bodies of prey respectfully. All wild animals follow their own rules and regulations during hunting of animals and do not cross limits while a criminal Shabir Ahmad wani from ompora Budgam crossed all limits of inhumanity, brutality, and wilderness. The shocking and heinous murder of Soibugh Budgam innocent Arifa Shafi sends shivers down the spine of conscious and civilized people. It speaks volumes of rising violence, level of criminals’, inhumanity and wildness of so-called modern human beings in the Kashmir valley. It also witnesses that our society has crossed all levels of inhumanity and has achieved destruction instead of the developmental goals of the nation. The Kashmir valley once known as Peer waer (the valley of saints) as pious people lived here. People were simple, honest and helpful and there was no violence and crimes against women. Women were feeling free and living in a peaceful atmosphere without any fear or threat of violence. People had humanity and protected the rights of a woman. Humanity and human rights were considered as the basic building blocks of living a peaceful and prosperous life. However due to greed of materialism, lack of faith in Islam and moving away from Islamic principles, moral degradation of society due to lack of Islamic knowledge and education, adaptation of western culture and increasing drug addiction, the humanity and human rights in a society have lost and crimes and violence against women have soared. Due to soaring of violence and crimes against women, the famous and unique tags for the Kashmir valley and its people like the ‘paradise on the earth” and the ‘kashmiryat” respectively have lost altogether. The criminals’ wings have spread for crimes and violence against the progenitors of human race. Criminals’ have made the Kashmir valley as the ‘crime waer ” as gruesome crimes are being committed by criminals in a broad day light without any fear of law. Criminals do not recognise what is right and wrong, what is good and bad and what is a mother, sister, daughter in law etc. the murder of innocent Arifa Shafi has put a black and deep stain on the tag of the kashmiriyat and the face of Kashmiri people. What kind of message has been sent to all the Non-Muslims due to the gruesome murder of innocent Arifa Shafi. The said heinous murder of Arifa Shafi left all women in deep stress and pain due to fear of criminals.
Women’s minds are now preoccupied with violence and murder fear. Their safety has become a great concern for the people in Kashmir valley and the challenge for the government. It is the high time for the people of the Kashmir valley to unite together to seek justice for the innocent Arifa Shafi otherwise criminal silence on heart wrenching murder of innocent Arifa Shafi by conscious and civilized people will provide a fertile space and powerful wings to criminals like the Shabir Ahmad wani. It will increase heinous crimes and violence like murder, acid attack, dowry death, marital rape, sexual harassment, physical and mental harm and arbitrary deprivation of liberty, intimidation at work place, trafficking, forced prostitution, cybercrimes, stalking, molestation, kidnapping and abduction of women in a society. The speedy trial of murder case of innocent Arifa Shafi in a fast track court and capital punishment to the criminal Shabir Ahmad in the form of deterrent and rigorous tortures followed by public hanging will be the justice for Arifa Shafi and her family. People have good faith in the police and the judiciary, considered as the highest temple of justice. Media bytes of people, uploading photos of innocent victims on social media platforms’, hollow speeches of most religious speakers on facebook platform will do nothing in curbing and eliminating the crimes and violence in a society unless we will not practically change ourselves as per Islamic laws and regulations. It is very unfortunate that thousands of so-called religious speakers in the Kashmir valley are yet to create a healthy society free of crimes and violence. They hardly deliver speeches on rising and burning social issues. Majority of them deliver hours on traditional speeches, and even some deliver speeches against each other. A lot of their time and energy have been wasted for years and today our society has been reaping the bitter fruits of past sowing. Let’s wake up from the deep slumber and unite together against violence and crimes. Otherwise, time will come very soon when the situation goes out of our control and our mothers, sisters, daughters will fall prey to criminals like the innocent Arifa Shafi of Soibugh Budgam.
(The author is teacher at Govt Boys Higher Secondary School Beerwa Budgam.The views, opinions, facts, assumptions, presumptions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
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