There are around 900 cases of violence against women registered with the State Women Commission indicating the magnitude of the problem in urban as well as rural Kashmir.

This and other problems were highlighted during a function held to mark the 100th Women’s International Day here on Monday.
Deliberating on various issues faced by the women folk in Kashmir, members of civil society including some rights activists renewed their resolve to fight for the rights of women.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary, State Women Commission, Hafeeza Muzaffar said violence against women was on rise both in urban and rural Kashmir.

“There are some 900 cases of violence against women in Kashmir registered with State Women Commission, which speaks volumes about the violation of their rights,” she said.

“Compromising photos of women are being used for advertisements of each and every commodity by the marketing companies,” Hafeeza said while urging men to uphold their rights.
President, Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), Parveena Ahangar spoke about the sufferings of women victims of Kashmir conflict.

“When the women’s day is being celebrated through out the globe by organizing various functions, mothers, sisters, wives and daughters in Kashmir are waiting for their sons, brothers, husbands and fathers who have been subjected to enforced disappearance during the 20 year long turmoil,” she said.

Parveena is herself a victim as her son was picked up by armed forces in 1990 and has been missing since then.

She resolved to continue her fight for the rights of women whose dear ones have been subjected to enforced disappearances over the years.

Parveena’s ordeal narrated by her in broken voice brought tears to many participants.

Women activist, Dilafroza Qazi while advising women to excel in educational field urged them to resist any violence perpetrated against them.

The function was organized by Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) and supported by rights groups ANHAD and SANGAT.

Deputy Commissioner Kupwara, Showkat Ahmad Mir who presided over the function stressed on the importance of girl education.

Director in charge JSS, Muhammad Akbar Ganai spoke about the need for men to lend support to women.

“The JSS is an initiative of Ministry of Human Resource Development and is being run by ANHAD since 2007. It works in all the three tehsils of Kupwara with nearly thousand boys and girls. The objective of the JSS is to improve occupational skills and technical knowledge of neo-literate and trainee population of the area to increase their efficiency and productive ability,” Ganai told Rising Kashmir on the sidelines of the function.

“Moreover it aims to provide academic and technical support to Zila Saksharate Samitis and take-up vocational and skill development programs in urban and rural areas among others. It offers short term courses in tailoring, computer applications and other fields,” she added.