Indian Oppression against Kashmiri Women: An Unforgivable Crime Against Humanity

Since 1989, 2,353 Kashmiri women have been martyred, while over 11,265 have faced molestation and disgrace at the hands of Indian troops.

On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the plight of women in Indian-Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) remains overshadowed by relentless Indian state terrorism. India continues to weaponize draconian laws to violate the dignity of Kashmiri women. The BJP-led government, after its illegal actions on August 5, 2019, has intensified its oppressive agenda. Using legal cover, Indian forces openly harass, detain, and dehumanize Kashmiri women, ignoring their basic human rights.

Since 1989, 2,353 Kashmiri women have been martyred, while over 11,265 have faced molestation and disgrace at the hands of Indian troops. The conflict has widowed 22,980 women in the past 36 years, further amplifying their suffering. The Indian regime has shamelessly detained dozens of women activists in infamous prisons like Tihar Jail.

In 2024 alone, Indian forces arrested several women during brutal house raids under fabricated charges. Victims include the wives of innocent men, like Aqam Din and Talib Shah, in districts such as Rajouri, Poonch, Samba, and Kathua. These arrests reflect a chilling pattern of state-sponsored cruelty.

India’s use of rape as a weapon of war in IIOJK is one of its most heinous tactics. Incidents like the Kunanposhpora mass rape and the Shopian double rape-murder expose the Indian military’s barbarity. In Kunanposhpora, nearly 100 women were gang-raped during a single operation in 1991. Similarly, the 2009 abduction and gang-rape of Aasiya and Neelofar, and the horrifying 2018 Kathua case, where an 8-year-old girl was gang-raped and murdered, exemplify the depth of India’s atrocities.

The mental torment inflicted on Kashmiri women doesn’t stop at physical violence. The enforced disappearances, arrests, and killings of their loved ones compound their anguish. The silence of the global community emboldens India’s continued crimes against humanity.

Kashmiri women’s voices remain suppressed while their suffering cries for justice. All Parties Hurriyat Conference leaders have urged the international community to intervene and hold India accountable. Their appeals demand urgent action to stop this cycle of injustice, terror, and violence.

The world cannot afford to look away while India perpetuates unspeakable crimes against Kashmiri women. A failure to act is a betrayal of humanity’s collective conscience.