Terrorising women

Sir, - The recent dictat of the Lashkar-e-Jabbar that Kashmiri women should compulsorily cover themselves with the veil is one of the most condemnable threats to Kashmiri women. Earlier, the Dukhtaran-e-Millat had also issued a similar warning. Following this, some acid attacks on girls have also taken place. Kashmiri women traditionally do not wear burqua and this dictat of the less-known terrorist group has been condemned by different Muslim organisations and prominent individuals.

The fundamentalist groups generally target women in the attempt to control the ethos of society and dictating their dress code is on top of their list. We have seen such dictats earlier in Iran and currently in the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

Various groups basing themselves on Hindu fundamentalist tendency have also occasionally dictated the dress code for women - they should put on bindi, they should not wear jeans, etc. Coming from whichever fundamentalist group, such fatwas and dictat should be condemned and opposed in no uncertain terms. Kashmiri women, more than even the Kashmiri men, have been the worst victims of the present impasse where cross- border terrorism, violation of human rights by State forces and the actions of local militant groups have compounded the situation. It is long overdue that the alienation of Kashmiri people is recognised and steps taken to ensure that their democratic aspirations are taken care of more than any other consideration in `solving' the Kashmir imbroglio.

Ram Puniyani, Ammu Abraham, Anand Patwardhan, Asghar Ali Engineer, Dolphy D'Souza, Gaurang Mehta, Jawaid Quddus, Jitendra Shah, M.Nauhad Ansari, Shamsul Islam, Prashant Bhushan,

Yogesh Kamdar

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