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Do you know how it feels to stay cooped up inside your room for five months with shattered window panes reminding you of the constant presence of violence? Nousheen Baba, 21 Science student, Government College for Women, Nawakadal | Photo Credit: V. V. KRISHNAN
Srinagar’s sprawling Eidgah ground is teeming with people. Despite the onset of Chillai Kalan, the harsh 40-day winter spell, there is a hubbub. Some are playing cricket, the rest looking on. Soldiers from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in mobile bunkers stand guard on the boundary wall; fingers locked on the trigger which, at the hint of any trouble, can spray pellets or tear gas. Three newly dug graves in the ‘Martyrs Graveyard’ bear testimony to the violent and troubled times of 2016.
Just metres away from the graveyard, Nousheen Baba and her sister Iqra Baba recall how they could not hold themselves back from watching the funeral procession of 12-year-old Junaid Ahmad on October 9. Security forces allegedly emptied an entire pellet cartridge from close range at Ahmad and the Valley exploded in anger and sadness at the loss of a young life. “Do you know how it feels to stay cooped up inside your room for five months with shattered window panes reminding you of the constant presence of violence,” asks Nousheen, a second-year science student of Government College for Women, Nawakadal and aspiring chartered accountant. The windows of the Baba household bore the brunt of the clashes which erupted between security forces and protesters.
But Nousheen is eager to put the painful year behind her and even manages a shy smile. As a warren of houses in the highly congested Narwara locality in downtown Srinagar greets the eye, a tiny silhouette in a shiny grey cover makes its presence felt in the small courtyard of the Babas. Beneath the cover is the family’s first motor-driven two-wheeler. Courtesy Iqra, a Bachelor of Commerce student at the same college her elder sister goes to, who was rewarded by the State government for securing 85 per cent marks in her Class XII exam. “It’s our first scooter in the family. We are all learning to drive it,” says Iqra’s father Mushtaq Baba, a weaver. The Scooty is Nousheen’s constant companion too ever since Iqra brought it home nearly two months ago. From college to market, to visiting her friends, it is her lifeline to a future she dreams about.
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[h=2]Small steps to giant strides[/h]While it is too early to see these women as enduring successes, having a woman Chief Minister at the helm seems to have given a fresh impetus to a more inclusive society in a State which has primarily been in the news this year for its mind-numbing violence. A slew of measures initiated by Chief Minister Mufti — including reservation of 10 per cent land in industrial estates for women entrepreneurs, the Ladli Beti scheme aimed at the economically poor, an all-woman entrepreneurs’ market, all-woman buses and all-woman police stations — are aimed at women.
The opposition National Conference spokesperson Sarah Hayat Shah acknowledges that every step towards empowerment of women is always appreciable, but simultaneously points out the troubled ground reality in Kashmir where even young girls have been killed or blinded in the wave of protests since July. “I am afraid the scooters may not be able to heal the wounds,” she says.
Ultimately, beyond the overhang of violence, a lot of the contestations with patriarchy are essentially atomic. “Every time I watch a fisherwoman of Srinagar, I can see her making her own rules as she negotiates her space and life,” says Roohi, now in her 40s.
Just like she fights her own little everyday battles, such as taking trolls — who were ‘outraged’ at her bringing a feel of Christmas to Chai Jai with cakes and candies from Mumbai — off her Twitter feed, one resolute click at a time.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/The-empowerment-diaries/article16965653.ece?homepage=true
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