The Kashmir Pulse

SRINAGAR — A Srinagar court on Saturday convicted a father for sexually assaulting her minor daughter in the year 2021.

After hearing Additional Public Prosecutor Muhammad Maqbool Shah and defence counsel, the Fast Track Court for POSCO, Srinagar, presided over by Aarti Mohan said that the prosecution has established the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.

“The prosecution has also succeeded in establishing the offence of sexual harassment also against the accused person,” the court said.

“The accused is accordingly convicted and the file shall come up for arguments on the quantum of punishment on December 11, 2023. The accused, who is currently on bail, be forthwith arrested and sent to Central Jail Srinagar,” reads a judgement, a copy of which lies with the Srinagar-based news agency KDC.

As per the prosecution, the convict was ‘forcing’ her minor daughter into intercourse, using vulgar language, touching private parts and threatening her against disclosing the same to anyone.

The victim had filed the case in Police Station Nowgam in 2021 and after completion of the investigation, a chargesheet under FIR number 95/2021 was presented before the court on August 25, 2021.

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PULWAMA — In order to aware the general public about legal aspects of the rights of women, crime against women, sexual assault, physical, mental harassment and female feticide, Pulwama Police organized an awareness seminar on 'Crimes Against Women' in collaboration with The Kashmir Pulse and NSS wing at Government Degree College Women’s Pulwama.

The event was presided over by Showkat Rafiq Wani, DySP Hqrs Pulwama. SHO Pulwama; Principal of the college, Dr Yasmeena Farooq; Advocate Manzoor-ul-Haq Wani; Chairperson of Ansaar-ul-Masakeen Kakapora, Aafiqa Ali were also present in the seminar.

During the programme, DySP Hqrs Pulwama delivered an elaborate lecture on the topic of sexual harassment at workplaces, domestic violence, human trafficking etc. He said that women have been victims of humiliation, exploitation and torture by men on different counts and rapes and brutal murders have been so common nowadays.

Mr Showkat Rafiq Wani made the girl participants (students) aware of the provisions of the law for the protection of women. He advised them to come forward with their grievances instead of becoming victims of bad characters. He assured them that police is committed to the protection of the general public, particularly women folk.

Lectures were also delivered by other police and civil officers in which participants were made aware of the rights of women in society. The participants were asked to encourage the victims to report in their respective jurisdictions.

Detailed awareness about laws and provisions relating to the abuse of women, foeticide and infanticide was also imparted to the participants. In addition, it was brought to their notice that Pulwama Police has recently set up a Women’s Cell in Pulwama that can be approached for any kind of assistance. The participants were assured that the identity of the victim would be kept confidential.

Besides, the participants were also made aware of the JKeCOP application launched by J&K Police to get emergency services including lodging an FIR at the click of a button. They were requested to download the application from the Google Play Store for almost all police-related issues like lodging complaints (FIR), viewing an FIR, giving information, reporting traffic violations, seeking emergency help, etc.

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SRINAGAR — Shazia, (not her real name) a dark-haired, 10-year-old sits quietly in a wooden chair. Her pale face gives way to a coy smile as the psychologist asks her name. With a slight shudder in her voice, a counsellor here tries to access her mind. Shazia is asked to colour drawings on a sketchbook placed before her. Her hand trembles as she holds a black crayon between her slender fingers.

Shazia from north Kashmir’s Kupwara has suffered sexual abuse from one of her elder cousins. Her parents passed away years ago and were staying with their uncle. Her sisters as per the counsellor had disclosed the tale of abuse to their aunt, who took little cognisance and advised them to be quiet about their ill fate.

No relief in sight, they sought shelter at their other relative’s place. “Our aunt was aware of the abuse all the while. Instead of taking any action against her son, she put the blame on us. She taunted us continuously that we will bring disrepute to the family. We had no option but to flee this home,” one of her sisters told the news agency KINS.

“She is too young to understand the torture she has endured. The emotional and psychological trauma inflicted on her can last lifelong,” the counsellor said.

Maryam (name changed), 15, usually a lively person by nature, loved to talk and laugh with her friends. Of late, she has, however, undergone a sudden transformation, she hardly interacts with anyone, confines herself to her room and has stopped attending classes at the coaching centre.

Her cousin noticed the change and decided to investigate. What she found was shocking. “I tried to initiate a conversation with her but to no avail. After a week, she came up to me with tearful eyes, and revealed how her teacher tried to assault her,” the cousin said.

The teacher at her coaching centre had made frequent attempts to touch her private parts. He made obscene gestures while teaching, and would often grin slyly at her. For a few days, she skipped classes and preferred to stay home. On parental insistence, she resumed her classes. The teacher continued to harass her.

“On inquiring further, I found that other girl students too faced harassment from the same person. But nobody complained, fearing the wrath of the teacher,” said Maryam’s cousin sister.

Sexual abuse, however, is not restricted to only the female sex, as is often mistakenly thought. A harrowing testimony comes from a 24-year-old science student, Umar Khan (name changed). He was raped at the age of 12 by a gardener.

The epidemic of child sexual abuse continues to haunt the lives of many young boys and girls.

“Getting them to report such incidents is a challenge, as the public and private discourse on CSA (child sexual abuse) is still a strong taboo in our society. Most children, therefore, have no means to vent their trauma, and silently repress it. Incidents of abuse reported, therefore, are quite disproportionate to the extent of the epidemic,” said a senior police official.

This post first appeared on The Kashmir Pulse