KASHMIR: Crime Against Women Up; 520 Rapes, 2536 Kidnappings in Four Years

Primarily, as a result of negligible conviction rate, the graph of crime against women in Kashmir has touched an all time high in last four years.

Data available with the Kashmir Times reveals the pathetic position of women victims who have faced the worst not only at the hands of the criminals but the administration as well.

Official statistics reveals that the police have registered 8260 cases of crime against women in last four years which include 6 dowry related deaths, 520 rape cases, 2536 kidnapping, 1103 eve teasing and 151 cases of cruelty by husband besides there have been 3944 cases of molestation in Kashmir in that period.

From the 12-year-old girl of Rainawari who was raped by her father and whose 12 month pregnancy was aborted under court orders to 25-year-old Farzana of Soura whose body was fished out at Sumbal just a year after her marriage, the Kashmir society has generally neglected the grave issue of crime against women.

The official figures of these atrocities are far too less than the reported ones. But in all likelihood, even if the figures are cumulated it will turn out to be a more typical story: a brutal killing of a woman that goes unprosecuted, unpunished, and forgotten.

Due to low (negligible) conviction rate, criminals dare to commit crimes because they know stringent action will not be taken against them, believe most of the legal experts in Valley. Within mainstream culture, media, politics and the legal system, violence against women continues to be viewed primarily as a personal, individualized issue in Kashmir.

Many such incidents go unreported and unnoticed. A political turmoil has overshadowed everything else, as public discourse, media, and even the NGOs only focus on the political turmoil of Kashmir.

Authorities may blame the population explosion for the surge in crime against women, but from dowry related disputes to extra marital affairs, from domestic violence to eve teasing Kashmir women have entered into an era of insecurity and helplessness.