An activist from the Geneva-based Universal Rights Group apprised the United Nations Human Rights Council (NHRC) of how stability and prosperity are returning to the Kashmir Valley.
In her intervention during the 52nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the activist from J-K said, “More families are expected to come forward, sharing their experiences as stability and prosperity return to Kashmir.” Further sharing details of the situation returning to normal in the Union Territory, the activist said, “As violence in Kashmir is on the decline and life returns to normal, there is a visible change in the attitude of the common Kashmiris.”
Also sharing the “tough times” her family had experienced before things changed for the better in the UT, she said, “For the first time, numerous Kashmiri families have shared their inability to speak about atrocities committed by terrorist organisations. In 2003, my sister was brutally killed by militants and I was shot multiple times. Life has never been normal since that day,” said the activist.
She added, “Today, we are willing to speak up and soon. We spend decades in anonymity. Out of fear of retribution by militants and existing patriarchal structures all these years, the information vacuum was exploited by giving false impressions on the developments in Kashmir.”
On her expectations from the Council, the activist said, “Taking the focus away from the perpetrators of terror is not enough for women to feel secure. Acknowledgement and moral support for these families and protection of human rights shall go a long way in establishing the desired comfort zone.”
She concluded her intervention with an appeal to the UNHRC, “It is a humble request to Human Rights Councils that the voices of Kashmiri victims of terror be heard by the international committee and effort be made to sensitise the world about these acts.” (ANI)
