Silent Scars and Unbroken Spirits: A Feminist Study of Kashmiri Aesthetics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17720/fcqgnf53Keywords:
Disappearances, torture, insurgency, state violence, resilience, sexual assault, psychological trauma.Abstract
The people living in Kashmir region have suffered immensely as a result of one of the longest-running territorial disputes in contemporary history. Not only have women become the unsung
victims of the ongoing conflict between the Indian state and the Kashmiri people, but they have
also become important figures bearing the brunt of a protracted armed conflict. This study
examines how Kashmiri women’s complex situation is portrayed in literary works while under
incessant military occupation and Indian state. The study argues that Kashmir is portrayed in
literary works as having been devastated by decades of militarization, which has had a significantly
negative impact on women’s lives in the region and exposed them to a range of vulnerabilities like
sexual assault, forced family members’ disappearances, psychological trauma, and disruptions of
their socioeconomic status. It also aims to critically analyze how the gendered effects of state
violence are portrayed, emphasizing how Kashmiri women have become victims of political
violence and torture both directly and indirectly. It also challenges the larger socio-political
dynamics that support their marginalization. The study also examines the legal and social structures that have consistently denied Kashmiri women justice, looking at the militarized
deadlock that hinders real accountability as well as the state’s impunity for gender-based violence.
In addition to that, this study also highlights the endurance of Kashmiri women and their role in
sustaining households under harsh conditions, and their involvement in resistance movements
despite the serious problems they face. Furthermore, it also aims to highlight the strength and
suffering of women, who are often disregarded, by examining the intersection of gender,
militarization, and political violence. By employing an interdisciplinary approach that integrates
literary theory, history, and literature, this research offers valuable perspectives on how Kashmiri
literature tackles gendered nature of violence that is not given due attention. This paper makes use
of qualitative research, interpretive paradigm and descriptive-analytical method to explore the
suffering and resilience of Kashmiri women exhibited by Anglophone Kashmiri writers Basharat
Peer and Shahnaz Bashir in their literary outpours
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