National News

ISLAMABAD, (APP): The Association of Parents of Disappeared
Persons (APDP) held a protest in Srinagar to highlight Kashmiri women’s struggle for truth and justice.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the APDP spokesperson in a
statement issued in Srinagar said that women had been the most vulnerable in Kashmir as thousands of rape and molestation incidents committed by Indian armed personnel had been reported, so far.
“Women in Kashmir have suffered at the hands of Armed forces. There
are more than 1,500 women waiting for their disappeared husbands and are referred to as half-widows,” the spokesperson added.
A woman protestor, whose husband is missing, said that women in
Kashmir are deprived of their basic rights while those in other parts of the world are treated at par with men.
“Kashmiri women have dominated struggle for justice. In the cases of
killings, disappearances and rapes, it is the women who have taken to streets, filed cases in courts and also campaigned for justice,” she added.
Meanwhile, hundreds of women and young girls took out a rally in
Muzzafarabad, drawing attention of the international community towards the plight of womenfolk in occupied Kashmir.
The rally was organized by International Forum for Justice and Human
Rights (IFJHR) to mark International Women’s Day. It started from Central Press Club passed through different areas of Muzaffarabad.
Participants of the rally carried banners and placards showing images
of wailing women, as well as slogans drawing attention of the international community in general and the United Nations in particular towards the repercussions of the festering Kashmir dispute.
The Forum Chairman, Muhammad Ahsan Untoo, addressed the rally over
phone from Srinagar.