Half Widow, Half Wife? Responding to Gendered Violence in Kashmir

Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons

SUMMARY

November 23, 2023

This report examines the situation of women in Indian-Administered Kashmir whose husbands have disappeared but not yet been declared deceased. This report draws on the experiences of half widows to capture an often unseen and pernicious face of insecurity in Kashmir. It identifies how this population provides an immediate opportunity for meaningful engagement. It makes recommendations to law and policy makers as well as to local, national, and international actors for concrete steps to ameliorate the lives of half widows and the people of Kashmir.

Topics: insecurity in Jammu and Kashmir, gendered violence, civic action, peace building, half widows’ state of perpetual limbo, economic hardship, social challenges, children, (un)available remedies, local action by and for half widows, recommendations to the government, recommendations to civil society

Terms: half-widows, enforced disapperances, violation of right of habeas corpus, denial of access to justice, failure to investigate violations, failure to remedy violations, failure to provide economic support, violation of economic rights, post-traumatic stress, post-traumatic stress affecting minors, gender-based violence, violence against women

ARTICLE PREVIEW

Key Findings:

By conservative estimates, there are 1,500 half widows in Kashmir.
Half widows are deemed ineligible for pensions and other governmental relief and thus face severe economic hardship.

The current legal remedies are pursued only by a minority of half widows since they are unclear, exhausting, and degrading.
Children of half widows are often particularly traumatized, showing extreme resentment and loneliness, and are vulnerable to impoverishment and exploitation.

Civil society organizations working to address various socio-economic insecurities faced by half widows are hampered by current laws, a dearth of resources, and lack of outside support to develop programming for half widows and their children.

Half widows represent various forms of insecurity, signify rights violations, stand as a constant reminder of alienation, and thus impede resolution in Kashmir.

Key Recommendations:

Law and policy changes must address the various forms of gendered violence—direct

violence against women or indirect violence due to violence against men in their

community—in order to bring lasting security to Kashmir.

The government must immediately (1 year) create a streamlined system of compensation for half widows and convene a special bench of the High Court to expedite their cases.
The government must immediately pass special legislation on enforced disappearances, keeping with the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, which the Indian government has signed and must ratify.
In the short-term (2-3 years), security laws that provide legal immunity to the armed forces must be amended and disappearance cases in general must be resolved and families told the whereabouts of their loved ones, dead or alive.
Civil society—local, Indian, and international—must recognize issues faced by half widows and advocate the government for meaningful change, while itself funding initiatives such as health care programs and income-generating projects that take a rights based approach to directly aid half widows and their children.

Link to Original Article