An Ongoing Threat to Human Security: An Emphasis On Kashmiri Women

 The state has long been invested in achieving ontological security in the discourse surrounding international relations and security studies, with a primary focus on safeguarding its national interests. The knowledge production around the idea of security has thus forth neglected the complex realities that marginalized groups of the society- especially women- face in conflict ridden areas. Using the case study of Kashmiri women, this blog post tries to demonstrate the interaction that exists between insecure vulnerable populations and the actors involved in perpetrating violence against them.

According to Cynthia Enloe, putting the human at the core of security concerns instantly calls into question the traditional state-based approach to security (Krystalli and Enloe). 

 The human security approach not only encourages more proactive approaches to countering insecurity both inside and beyond the state, but also aims to offer sustainable solutions. By employing a feminist and a post-colonial lens to the analysis, the blog post seeks to explore the relativity of security addressing essential and frequently overlooked conceptions of who’s security, from what, by what means, for what purpose, and by which security actor. 

The geopolitical landscape of the region surrounding Kashmir is one of the most heavily militarized and securitized zones in the world leading to complex power dynamics between India, Pakistan and China. A post-colonial lens emphasizes on historicizing issues as the present is deeply embedded in its past. Thus, studying the historical context of issues becomes vital in order to comprehend the current nature of political and security conflicts. The history of Kashmir is one of great trauma and unrest. The shackles of imperialism, mass violence and the memory of partition continues to shape the stories of the native population. According to a post structural realist, Ole Waever, something can be defined as an issue of security when the elites declare it to be so (Waever 1995).  Nation states driven by realist desires often declare something concerning security if it threatens the state’s economic or military interest. Recent literature by International Relations feminists challenges this idea by focusing on the lived experiences of people who are left 'in-between' the conflicts, as J Anne Tickner points out in a conversation with Parashar ("Feminism and Postcolonialism: The Twain Shall Meet," October 1, 2016). The affected individuals who are embedded in the narrative include women from diverse ethnic and religious communities like Sikh, Sunni and Shia Muslims, Gujjar, Pahari and Kashmiri Pandit women. The Indian state's attempt to enforce security measures in the region causes unease among the women engaged since their voices are rarely heard in the top-down decision-making apparatus. 

Human security, in the context of Kashmir goes beyond protection from mere violence, it focuses on access to resources, healthcare systems, social institutions, safeguarding economic security, protection from persistent gendered inequalities and so on. For Kashmiri women, security comes out to be relative as it is shaped by the threat object ( oppression of all kinds), and the referent object (individual or community). Using a feminist lens, the question of ‘whose security’ transcends state security and military ambitions, and takes a bottom-up approach to the issue by placing Kashmiri women at the center of the discourse. While the Indian nation state prioritizes its territorial interests, the marginalized female populace is left with insecurities of several kinds including health, socio political and economic stability. The referent object so expands and transfers from the traditional state to individuals, particularly women, who have experienced the brutal traumas of conflict. Furthermore, Laura Shepherd (2009) discusses the structural violence that marginalized people face. Violence in this context is not confined to the hard power of the state, but also the everyday struggles of the women. 

Post colonialism scholars highlight how the practice of violence against Kashmiri people stem from a history of colonial encounters and hierarchical power dynamics that allow for such exploitation to happen. The threat object in this context is the postcolonial nation state and the referent object becomes the Kashmiri population who face a continuous threat to their security from multiple actors including state sponsored mechanisms, insurgent groups, non-state actors, government policies and the patriarchal nature of the international system. The enduring impact of trauma is reiterated through the implementation of policies like the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA). With its colonial roots, the act was initially enacted in 1958 by the British authorities as means of maintaining public order and combating terrorism. However, its implementation in ‘disturbed areas’ of Jammu & Kashmir has led to numerous human right violations including disappearances, arbitrary detentions, unlawful killings and sexual assaults, particularly targeting women. “With the continued existence and enforcement of legal provisions like AFSPA, access to effective legal remedies for victims of human rights violations and their relatives in J&K remains as limited today as it was in the 1990s”, says Amnesty International Report (“Denied”: Failures in Accountability in Jammu and Kashmir). This is a prominent example of how the state fails to negotiate with the interests of women in conflict prone areas. Feminist scholars emphasize how the patriarchal nature of the international system and the militarization by the state adds on to the narrative and plays a major role in subjugating the rights of Kashmiri women (Manchanda 2001).  

The motivation for Kashmiri women's subjection and the fears they experience stems from politics of dominance and control, which are typically seen as characteristics of masculinity. The domination of Kashmiri women by the state and insurgent groups serves to reiterate the existing power hierarchies and maintain social control over them. Post colonial studies further demonstrate how colonial interests still continue to shape the way in which these women are treated. Their concerns are often put second to the state interests. Ann Tickener argues that colonialism and gender are co-constituted and cannot be separated from each other (“Feminism and Postcolonialism: The Twain Shall Meet,” October 1, 2016).  Rooted in feminist theory, intersectionality highlights that individuals can have overlapping identities such as class, caste, gender, race which makes them more vulnerable to the threat objects. Intersectionality thus becomes a paramount to understand how gender and encounters with colonialism both shape Kashmiri women’s experiences of security. The border tensions, governmental policies and continuous surveillance measures taken in order to protect state security further exacerbates their marginalization and increases their plight. Militant groups target women of other boundaries to assert domination and intimidate each other further undermining the safety and rights of women. Women’s bodies thus lose their autonomy and rather become a vehicle of state propaganda. It is thus essential to broaden the axis of threat objects and amplify the voices of these women.  

By focusing on the everydayness of these concerns, a postcolonial and feminist approach becomes critical in order to move beyond the surface level and conduct in-depth analysis enabling a comprehensive redefinition of security and formulation of policies that prioritize ordinary people's lives (Derby 2016). 

References

International, Amnesty. “Denied”: Failures in Accountability in Jammu and Kashmir. 2015.

Parashar, Swati. “Feminism and Postcolonialism: The Twain Shall Meet.” Postcolonial Studies 19, no. 4 (2016): 463-477. https://doi.org/10.1080/13688790.2016.1317583

Shepherd, Laura J. “Gender, Violence and Global Politics: Contemporary Debates in Feminist Security Studies.” Political Studies Review 7, no. 2 (2009): 208-219.

Rita Manchanda. “Redefining and Feminising Security: Making a Difference in Security Policies.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 36, no. 43, 2001, pp. 4100–07. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4411297. Accessed 17 Mar. 2024.

Krystalli, Roxani, and Cynthia Enloe. “Doing Feminism: A Conversation Between Cynthia Enloe and Roxani Krystalli.” International Feminist Journal of Politics, vol. 22, no. 2, Informa UK Limited, Nov. 2019, pp. 289–98. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2019.1678394.