WUNRN
INDIA-KASHMIR - MUSLIM & HINDU
WOMEN JOIN FORCES
AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE - CALL FOR
LEGAL PROTECTION
For the past two
decades, domestic violence has been a low priority in one of
28 December 2009
The
woman who has accused her husband of beating her has a moon-shaped face and a
gentle smile, but he insists she is controlled by an evil spirit. "I
cannot take her back. She is under the influence of a djinni [a supernatural
being]," says the husband. "But I have never beaten her."
His wife, Rafika, tries to staunch her tears, while gripping their
six-year-old daughter. "No, he has hit me many times. I have gone to the
police," she says. "Whenever I ask for money he gets angry. He beats
me with his fists."
At this point, the man's father – also sitting in the room of the hearing –
angrily gets to his feet. Not only is the woman controlled by a spirit, he
shouts, before he is escorted out by officials, but it is a Hindu spirit.
"We will be happy if she goes to the Imam [Muslim priest] to have it dealt
with."
Few of the cases
of marital dispute that come before the Commission for Women in
For a long time in this troubled place, women had few places to turn to for
help and few people to talk to. Amid a two-decades-old separatist insurgency
that has claimed more than 70,000 lives, the issue of domestic violence was
often considered much less of a priority. At the height of the violence, with
people being killed or wounded almost every day at either at the hands of the
militants or the security forces, women were told that they had to support
their husbands, to keep quiet. How will it help things if you raise this issue?
they were told by friends and relatives, many of them women. A spiralling
addiction to drugs by many men made matters worse.
But slowly that is changing. Activists from both the Hindu and Muslim
communities have come together to educate women about their rights and to
spread a message of "no-tolerance" among the broader community. They
have reached out to religious leaders, teachers and the media. They are also
pressing for new anti-domestic violence legislation that will provide women
with more legal protection.
"The domestic violence programme developed from a wider project to
create a space in which women across the state could talk and feel safe,"
said Ashima Kaul, an activist whose work is funded by Peace Direct, one of the
charities for which money is being raised by The Independent's Christmas
appeal. "As the women started talking, something that emerged was that one
thing that women from all areas of the state had in common – whether they were
from Kashmir,
This is a ground-breaking initiative, according to Peace Direct's
programmes director Tom Gillhespy. "Mrs Kaul's project offers a unique
opportunity to bring together both Muslim and Hindu communities," he says.
"It is an entry point to building a wider peace between them."
Forty-five-year-old Zahida, from the town of
"He has hurt me many times. He is not a good character," she
says. "I have told my family about it but they expect me to put up with it
and keep on with my married life. I want to go. I want a divorce."
Hafiza Muzaffar, the commission's secretary, says that as society changes
so more women are feeling able to speak out about their experiences. They are
also expecting more from their marriages, and from their husbands.
The commission now has the legal power to force people to attend the
sessions and to give evidence under oath. If a man refuses to attend, the
commission can dispatch the police to his house and force him to come.
But the activists working across
Mrs Kaul's work to provide a voice for the women of
With the vast majority of Kashmiri Hindus, or Pandits, having fled the
"This conflict is described as a freedom struggle, but in fighting,
everyone has lost their freedom – we are so scared of each other," she has
written. "I want to open up safe spaces, where women can come together and
all their voices can be heard."
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