Kashmiri women bear the brunt of unresolved Kashmir dispute: APHC
India weaponizing rape as a war tool in IIOJK
Srinagar: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has strongly condemned India’s use of rape as a war weapon to crush the Kashmiris’ freedom struggle, emphasizing that the prolonged Kashmir dispute has left women in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) among the worst victims of Indian state terrorism.
According to Kashmir Media Service, APHC spokesperson Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas, in a statement issued in Srinagar, said that while the world marks International Women’s Day, for Kashmiri women, the occasion holds no meaning. “They continue to endure unimaginable suffering at the hands of unrestrained Indian troops. In an environment dominated by occupation forces, their lives, dignity, and security remain at constant risk,” he stated.
Despite relentless oppression, he affirmed, Kashmiri women remain resolute, standing shoulder to shoulder with men in the fight for right to self-determination. He noted that thousands of Kashmiri women have been left to struggle alone as their husbands, fathers, and brothers languish in Indian jails. Yet, their spirit of resistance remains unshaken, and they continue to face Indian brutality with extraordinary courage.
The APHC spokesperson denounced India’s systematic use of sexual violence as a tool of war, aimed at breaking the will of Kashmiris and tarnishing their dignity. He paid glowing tribute to the unwavering resilience of Kashmiri women, stressing that while every Kashmiri suffers under Indian state terrorism, women bear the worst brunt of repression. He urged global human rights organizations and women’s rights advocates to break their deafening silence and take urgent notice of the horrific abuses inflicted upon Kashmiri women.
Meanwhile, APHC leaders Zamrooda Habib, Ghulam Muhammad Khan Sopori, Bashir Ahmad Andrabi, Imtiaz Ahmed Reshi, Khawaja Firdous, Fayaz Hussain Jafari and Maulana Syed Sibte Shabir Qomi, in their separate statements, hailed the crucial role of Kashmiri women in the ongoing freedom movement. They revealed that in a shocking display of war crimes, Indian troops have sexually assaulted thousands of women over the past 35 years in a desperate attempt to suppress the Kashmiris’ struggle.
Lamenting the criminal indifference of the international community, the Hurriyat leaders stressed that now is the time for the world to hold India accountable for its heinous crimes against humanity in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
