Jammu And Kashmir Awaits Women's Commission Five Years After Article 370 Abrogation; Activists Voice Concern

Although the BJP led government at the Centre has been claiming that Article 370 abrogation paved the way for people's rights and long overdue development, the union territory still awaits a full fledged Women's Commission five years after the reorganization which is directly impacting women facing violence as cases are piling up in courts and police stations. Women activists demand setting up of a Women's Commission on a war footing basis so that hearing on such cases could be expedited, reports ETV Bharat's Parvez Ud Din.

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): Amid much hype by the BJP led NDA government at the Centre around abrogation of Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, the establishment of a Women's Commission in the union territory has not materialized five years after the reorganisation of the state with the extraordinary delay directly impacting women facing domestic violence, women activists said.

Following the abrogation of Article 370 and the dissolution of the State Commission for Women, the National Commission for Women has conducted only a few "Mahila Jan Sunwai" programs in Srinagar. As a result, a dedicated office for the National Commission for Women has not been established, where affected women could register their cases seeking justice.

Incidents of domestic violence against women in Jammu and Kashmir are on the rise. In the past five years, women's police stations have recorded thousands of cases of dowry and other abuses against women. According to a survey report by the National Family Welfare and Health Department, there has been an increase of over 6% in domestic violence cases in the Union Territory.

Before August 5, 2019, hundreds of cases of domestic violence and other issues concerning women were pending before the State Women's Commission. Over the past few years, the National Commission for Women has received more than 4,000 complaints of abuse, primarily related to dowry and attempted rape. However, many cases remain unreported as numerous women are illiterate or have limited education, preventing them from filing complaints online.

Although some districts have women’s police stations and the judiciary is available to provide justice, delays in court proceedings and the overwhelming number of cases in women's police stations hinder timely justice for victims. Consequently, many women hesitate to report domestic violence.

Advocate Fiza Firdous highlighted that the increasing incidents of domestic violence in Kashmir are alarming for society. However, the greater tragedy is the absence of a commission to address and resolve these issues promptly, even after several years, she said.

“Although we have women's police stations, but those are already overburdened and one has to make several rounds to the police stations. The judiciary too is also virtually inaccessible for common women due to lack of financial resources,” Fiza said.

Laila Qureshi, another social activist said that Women's commission was indispensable for women to get their rights. “There are no homes for women where they can seek help to their problems, which will only keep on piling up if a Women's Commission is not set up,” Laila said.

Social activist Qurat Ul Ain Masoodi too voiced concern over the delay in settin up a Women's Commission in the UT she said was leading to the swift disposal of cases of women facing violence.

The National Commission for Women has received thousands of complaints related to abuse, dowry, and attempted rape over the past five years.