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Jammu: As thousands of men migrate from remote parts of Jammu region during harsh winters in search of livelihood, Indian authorities have increasingly relied on arming and deploying women under the Village Defence Guards (VDGs) scheme.<\/p>\n
According to Kashmir Media Service, women VDG members equipped with .303 rifles are guarding isolated villages across Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts. The move has raised serious concerns among observers, who view the policy as a militarization of civilian life and a coercive attempt to stifle pro-freedom voices.<\/p>\n
Superintendent of Police Bhaderwah Vinod Sharma acknowledged that harsh winters force many men from the hilly Chenab region to migrate to cities, leaving villages largely inhabited by women, children and elderly residents. Instead of addressing the root causes of migration and insecurity, authorities have trained women to take up armed patrol duties in difficult terrain and forested areas.<\/p>\n
The officer claimed that women VDGs are being trained in \u201ctactics and strategies\u201d to counter so-called militant threats and are deployed shoulder to shoulder with men. He admitted that dozens of armed women are now patrolling remote hamlets bordering forest belts and mountainous stretches.<\/p>\n
Critics say the policy effectively turns women into frontline actors without addressing their safety, consent or long-term welfare. They argue that arming women civilians reflects the failure of the Indian state to ensure normalcy and economic stability in the territory.<\/p>\n
Human rights observers warn that deploying civilian militias, including women, risks repeating cycles of violence and deepening fear among local populations.<\/p>\n
Political leaders from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have praised the move, portraying it as an example of \u201cbravery\u201d and \u201cempowerment.\u201d However, analysts maintain that true empowerment lies in ensuring education, healthcare, employment and civilian protection\u2014not in handing rifles to women in conflict zones. The increasing reliance on women VDGs is being seen as yet another sign of the militarized environment prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir, where ordinary civilians are routinely drawn into the conflict as a substitute for lasting political solutions and meaningful peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jammu: As thousands of men migrate from remote parts of Jammu region during harsh winters in search of livelihood, Indian authorities have increasingly relied on arming and deploying women under the Village Defence Guards (VDGs) scheme. According to Kashmir Media Service, women VDG members equipped with .303 rifles are guarding isolated villages across Doda, Kishtwar …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":192570,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-192568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indian-occupied-jammu-and-kashmir"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2026\/01\/15-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192568"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":192571,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192568\/revisions\/192571"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}