Seminar Highlights Plight of IIOJK’s Women Under Indian Occupation

Speakers at a seminar in Islamabad urged the global community to hold Indian troops accountable for crimes against Kashmiri women.

The seminar organized by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) chapter on International Women’s Day, brought attention to the ongoing atrocities against women in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The event was presided over by senior diplomat Niala Chohan.

The speakers voiced deep concerns over the suffering of Kashmiri women, who have played a crucial role in the region’s freedom movement. They pointed out that Indian forces have systematically used rape as a weapon of war, citing horrific incidents from Kunan Poshpora to Shopian as clear evidence of these brutalities.

They also highlighted that since 1989, thousands of Kashmiri men have been forcibly disappeared or killed in staged encounters after being arrested. As a result, many women are left in a painful state of uncertainty, living as half-widows without knowing the fate of their husbands.

Another distressing reality discussed was the use of pellet guns by Indian forces to blind hundreds of Kashmiri women and girls, including Hiba Nisar and Insha Mushtaq, as part of a broader campaign to instill fear among Kashmiri women.

Furthermore, the speakers condemned the imprisonment of prominent Kashmiri women leaders, including Asiya Andrabi, Fahmida Sufi, and Nahida Nasreen, along with over two dozen other women, for advocating the right to self-determination.

In a united appeal, the participants called upon the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and human rights organizations to take immediate action against the ongoing oppression of Kashmiri women and hold Indian authorities accountable.

The seminar was attended by notable figures, including Shamim Shawl, Mrs. Durani, Dr. Salma Malik, Dr. Shagufta Rauf, Mehr ul Nisa, Samira Qureshi, Dr. Faryal, Atiya, Khola Khan, Benazir Khan, Mahmood Ahmad Sagar, Mushtaq Ahmad Butt, Syed Faiz Naqshbandi, Sheikh Abdul Mateen, Muhammad Rafiq Dar, Sheikh Yaqoob, Syed Ejaz Rahmani, Raja Khadim Hussain, Mian Muzaffar, Imtiaz Wani, Zahid Safi, Syed Gulshan, Muhammad Shafi Dar, Manzoor Ahmad Dar, Muhammad Ashraf Dar, Sheikh Abdul Majid, Abdul Majid Lone, Qazi Imran, Imtiaz Butt, Rayees Mir, Khalid Shabbir, Syed Manzoor Ahmed Shah, and others.