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peace movements]>strengthening Women
'Jammu & Kashmir Women Building Peace', Patni Top, April 27- 29, 2002
The Patni Top workshop brought together 22 women form all parts of
the state of Jammu and Kashmir in a unique dialogue that cut across
communal, regional, ethnic and class identities to explore the
possibilities of developing a dialogue based on a common desire for
peace. The need for a single conflict focus was articulated at the
Kathmandu Regional Workshop where it was felt that greater attention was
needed to provide an enabling environment for communication between
Kashmiri Pandits (Hindus) and Kashmir Muslims. Moreover, any settlement
of the Kashmir conflict would have to take into consideration not only
the different communities, but also regional differences. And in view of
the recent political machinations towards trifurcation and further
divisions of the territory as a means to settle the conflict, it was
felt that there was need to bring together women from all regions of the
state, including Ladakh and the border districts to discuss their
multiple perspectives on the conflict situation.
The ice breaker were personal histories. For example, there were
three participants –all three had been victims of abduction by various
militant groups – a former Member of the state Assembly, another the
daughter of a Member of Parliament and state government employee
–women’s welfare dept, the third a humble Anganwadi ( ) worker. From
the emotional sharing of their experiences emerged an empathy and
enabled the Patni Top dialogue to transcend bitterly felt differences
and grievances. It was an important building block and led the way to a
common affirmation of the desire to build a just and undivided peace. In
particular, the gendered mapping exercises were a learning and
liberating experience.
The Patni Top dialogue brought out the possibility of making common
cause on practical welfare and human rights issues as a first step in
nurturing trust and habits of working together. But it was vital to
locate it in the effort to create a wider consciousness of building a
just and democratic peace. The linkages between the lack of peace and
issues such as economic impoverishment, environmental degradation,
displacement, drug addiction, unemployment, domestic violence, sexual
abuse, depression, impotence, pregnancy maladies and poor health care,
early marriage, child labour, would be emphasized. Women activists
stressed the significance of being economically enabled to facilitate
undertake activities that involved public work i.e. peace building.
Family members were more likely to be supportive about women going out
if it was related to income generating activity. But would women who had
suffered at the hands of the state as those in the Association of the
Parents of the Disappeared Persons (APDP) be prepared to take any
assistance from a government scheme? What about the Muslim Khawateen
Markaz (MKM) a constituent of the pro-separatist Hurriyat forum? But
there were other individual initiatives (Dilafroze Qazi) to set up self
help groups in the village of Kunan Poshpara which had been scarred by
mass rape by the security forces more than 10 years ago.
Where does one begin? The answer came from an unexpected source –Gulshan,
a member of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) put
it starkly, -“mere sar mein jo keeda ghusa hai, kam karne ka-wo
doosri auraton ke sar mein bhi ghusa hai” (Take me- a victim- a worm
has got into my head and will not let me be. It drives me to work. There
are other women like me- victims too) “You have to reach out to the
victims first, because they can not rest, they have to come out. They
can’t go back till they find out, till they get justice”, she said.
The presence of women political activists of the Muslim Khawateen
Markaz and a former Member of the State Assembly gave a focus to the
discussion on countering marginalization of women in the decision making
process. Moreover the need for building solidarity was underscored by
the weaknesses demonstrated by organisations like APDP in going it
alone.
The importance of continuing and building upon the
Patni top dialogue encouraged the participants to found the Daughters
of Ladakh Kashmir Jammu ( DLKJ ) a public forum to mobilize women’s
capacity to build peace.
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