Status of women in India’s KASHMIR

By Swati Dev

Women in Kashmir seem to have been caught between the devil and dark blue sea ever since the beautiful state passed into conflict three decades ago. Belonging to a patriarchal society, they have had to fight inequality and routine discrimination. Since the onset of insurgency in 1988, attack and torture on women have increased in the state. 

Women’s rights in Kashmir Valley have major issues as there is harassment of young Muslim women participating in sports activities, demands of dowry after marriage, domestic violence, incidents, acid attacks and many other impediments. Absence of men because of the continuing conflict for various reasons has also affected the women with no or very little sources of income but managing the family.

In addition to all these man made problems, a drastic climate change in the Himalayan region affected the state most. Incidentally, Kashmir shares most parts (41.65 percent) of the great mountain range. But now with a sharp decline in terrorism in the sensitive border state like Jammu and Kashmir seem to have helped women coming to the forefront in socio economic life in states where their role was limited earlier. Women are coming out both in urban and rural areas  and excelling in many fields in recent times.

The Government on its part has started some women- oriented schemes which have put them on the path of becoming self-reliant and independent. Besides helping women to become successful entrepreneurs the government has also given them major roles in administration and in police.

Panchayat  Raj  Institutions have been creating awareness about the women empowerment schemes at the grassroots level and are acting as nodal points in rural areas. There are now over 56,000 Self Help Groups  (SHGs)  in  J&K  and as many as five lakh women are associated with such groups. According to the official figures, about 55 percent of gram panchayats have been covered under women SHGs in J&K and the efforts are on to achieve the target of covering 100% grass root institutions.

Women are playing a major role in transforming the economy of the rural areas. The UMEED scheme of J&K Rural Livelihood Mission (JKRLM) since 2019 has been working relentlessly to engage the women from marginalized sections of the society into gainful livelihood ventures.The mission is to make every attempt to reach out to the rural population across J&K and to provide women with sustainable livelihood opportunities and nurture them so that they come out of poverty and live dignified lives.

The JKRLM has brought self-sufficiency among rural women. The JKRLM is extensively based on capacity building and strengthening of community-based  institutions by empowering rural women at different levels. Few  months   ago,   the JKRLM and Meesho, India’s fastest-growing internet commerce company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the growth of 1,800 Self-Help Groups  (SHGs) by providing them an online platform to launch and grow their business and empower the rural women entrepreneurs.

Women empowerment schemes are also helping the women to march towards their goals. Women constitute about 47 per cent of the total population in J&K and their active participation in every field has helped in restoring normalcy in the Himalayan region, which witnessed a Pakistan-sponsored onslaught for 30 long years. But there is still a long way to go for the women in Kashmir.