Empowering Voices: Women in Politics in Jammu and Kashmir
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/rrjss.2026.v06.n01.018Keywords:
women, Politics, empowerment, Jammu and KashmirAbstract
Empowering women in politics is not just about equality, it's about enriching governance with diverse perspectives, priorities, and solutions. By breaking barriers and fostering inclusive environments, we pave the way for a more representative and effective democracy. This paper explores the evolving role of women in the political sphere of Jammu and Kashmir. It examines historical contexts, socio-cultural barriers, and systemic obstacles to women's political participation. The study highlights initiatives and movements that have increased women's representation and impact, while also documenting the challenges they face. The research underscores the importance of fostering an inclusive political environment to amplify women's voices and advocates for sustained efforts and policies to support women's political empowerment in the region.
References
Chowdhary, Rekha, and Vibhuti Ubbott. "Women and politics in Jammu and Kashmir." In Women in State Politics in India, Routledge” India, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003374862-2
Kazi, Seema. "Women, gender “politics, and resistance in Kashmir." Socio-Legal Rev. 18 (2022): 95. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55496/HEZV9979
Gul, Showkeen Bilal Ahmad. "Women and “Violence: A Study of Women's Empowerment and Its Challenges in Jammu and Kashmir." Online Submission 2, no. 7 (2015): 1-9.
Chowdhary, Rekha, and Vibhuti Ubbott. "Conflict and the Peace “Process in Jammu and Kashmir: Locating the Agency of Women." Openings for Peace: UNSCR 1325, Women and Security in India (2016): 185.
Shekhawat, Seema. "Visible in conflict, “invisible in peace: Positioning women in the militancy in Kashmir." In Female Combatants in Conflict “and Peace: Challenging Gender in Violence and Post-Conflict Reintegration, London: Palgrave” Macmillan UK, 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137516565_7
Sobhrajani, Manisha. "Women’s Role in the post-1989” Insurgency." Faultlines (2008).
Akhtar, Shaheen. "Women and peacebuilding in “Azad Jammu and Kashmir." Kashmir: New Voices, New Approaches (Boulder, CO: Lynne” Rienner Publishers) (2006). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781685857882-010
Shekhawat, Seema. Gender, conflict and “peace in Kashmir. Cambridge University Press, 2014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107323520
Akhtar, Shaheen. "3. AJK Women and “Strategic Peacebuilding” in Kashmir." Regiona”l (2012): 3-38.
Sikander, Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad. "Women in conflict: Surviving and struggling in Kashmir." Economic and Political” Weekly (2012): 21-24.
Shekhawat, Seema. "Engendering Armed Militancy in Kashmir: Women as Perpetrators of Violence." In Understanding” Collective Political Violence, pp. 124-142. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230348318_7
Shekhawat, Seema. "Introduction: women in conflict and peace-making." In Female combatants in conflict and peace: Challenging” gender in violence and post-conflict reintegration, pp. 1-19. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137516565_1
Raazia, Izzat, and Saqib Ur Rehman. "Resistance of women against Indian illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir: their invisibility during peace negotiations." Margalla” Papers 25, no. 1 (2021): 92-102. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54690/margallapapers.25.1.54
Mehdi, Syed Eesar. "Demystifying women’s role in the resistance politics of Kashmir." International Feminist Journal of” Politics 23, no. 2 (2021): 361-365.. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2021.1882324
Forcey, Linda Rennie. "Integrating women's studies with peace studies: challenges for feminist theory." Indian Journal” of Gender Studies 2, no. 2 (1995): 211-226. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/097152159500200204
Neogi, Devina. "Women's Struggles in the Kashmir Militancy War." Journal of International Women's” Studies 23, no. 6 (2022): 4.
Zeeshan, Sonia, and Hanife Aliefendioğlu. "Kashmiri women” in conflict: a feminist perspective." Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 11, no. 1 (2024): 1-19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02742-x
Sarvesh, Tarushikha. "Impact of protracted conflict on women in Kashmir: tracking multidimensional exclusions within social and political institutions." Politics, Groups, and Identities 12, no. 1 (2024): 45-65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2022.2106877
Butalia, Urvashi, ed. Speaking peace: Women’s” voices from Kashmir. Zubaan, 2014.
Rajagopalan, Swarna. "Peace with women: political participation in post-conflict contexts." Women and Politics “of Peace: South Asia Narratives on Militarisation, Power, and Justice. Sage Publications” New Delhi (2017): 3-31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9789353280239.n1
Mullally, Siobhán. "Women, “Peace and Security in Contemporary Pakistan: Meeting the Challenge of Security Council Resolution 1325." Irish Studies in “International” Affairs (2011): 53-66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/isia.2011.0007
Majeed, Mehak. "Women in low intensity political conflict (through the lives of Kashmiri women)." Journal Gender-Based “Violence (2022). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/239868021X16556503088293
Faheem, Farrukh. "Women, family and the everyday struggle facing conflicts 1: A case of Kashmir." In The contemporary Indian family, Routledge” India, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003057796-7
Ramachandran, Sudha, and Sonia Jabbar. The Shades of Violence: Women and Kashmir. WISCOMP, Foundation for Universal” Responsibility, 2003.