Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai
Chairman
World Forum for Peace & Justice

July 8, 2026

Nearly 10,000 women and girls have reportedly disappeared from Jammu and Kashmir since 2019. According to figures presented by Ajay Kumar, India’s Minister of State for Home Affairs in Parliament, 9,765 females—including 1,148 girls under the age of 18—have been reported missing. If these numbers are accurate, they represent one of the most urgent and underreported human rights concerns in South Asia today. Yet the question remains unanswered: Where are they?

For decades, Kashmir has been associated with conflict, militarization, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and allegations of serious human rights violations. Thousands of families continue to live with unanswered questions about loved ones who vanished, while reports of unmarked graves and prolonged detention have drawn repeated concern from international human rights organizations.

Yet amid this long history of suffering, one development stands out as especially alarming: the disappearance of 9,765 women and girls from Jammu and Kashmir since 2019. These are not anonymous numbers. They represent daughters, mothers, sisters, wives, and students whose families continue searching for answers. The obvious question is simple: Where are they?

Reports indicate that many of these women remain untraced. Voice of America reported growing criticism over the authorities’ response to the rising number of missing women, while Kashmir Life documented continuing disappearances, particularly in Kathua district, where local residents have reported new cases almost every month. The persistence of these disappearances has created fear among families and deepened public anxiety.

The tragedy of missing persons is not new to Kashmir. For years, international organizations, including Amnesty International, the United Nations, and the U.S. Department of State, Country Report on Human Rights, have documented allegations of enforced disappearances, unlawful killings, torture, and mass graves. Estimates cited in various reports suggest that between 8,000 and 10,000 people have disappeared over the decades. Their wives became known as “half-widows”—women trapped between hope and grief because they never learned whether their husbands were alive or dead.

Now another generation faces a similar uncertainty. These disappearances come against the backdrop of sweeping political and legal changes introduced after August 2019. Last month, the Institute of Voices of Victims released a report titled Systematic Suppression of the Right to Self-Determination in Kashmir (2019–2026). The report alleges a pattern of political repression, demographic change, economic restructuring, and restrictions on civil liberties. It argues that mass arrests, property seizures, surveillance, and new domicile policies have collectively narrowed civic and political space for Kashmiris.

Critics have also raised concerns about the expansion of domicile certificates, replacing the previous State Subject system that had historically governed permanent residency and property ownership. They argue that these changes are intended to alter the demographic composition of the region, while the Indian government falsely claims that the reforms promote integration and equal opportunities.

Political dissent has likewise become increasingly risky. Prominent separatist leaders and activists, including Mohammad Yasin Malik, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Masarat Alam Bhat, Asiya Andrabi, Fehmida Sofi, and Naheeda Nasreen, have faced prosecution or lengthy detention under laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Public Safety Act (PSA). Human rights organizations have repeatedly expressed concern that these laws permit prolonged detention and can be used to suppress peaceful dissent.

International law provides an important framework for evaluating these developments. Article 1 of both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognizes the right of peoples to self-determination. The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits collective punishment, demographic manipulation, forcible population transfers, and interference with protected civilian populations in occupied territories. Whether and how these legal provisions apply to Kashmir remains the subject of international legal and political debate, but they continue to be cited by numerous human rights advocates.

Among all these issues, however, the disappearance of thousands of women and girls demands immediate and independent investigation.

Doctoral researcher Zainab Zafar at Exeter University has written extensively about the use of sexual violence in conflict zones, arguing that gender-based violence has historically been used to intimidate communities and suppress dissent. Following the revocation of Article 370, she notes, public discourse that objectified Kashmiri women further intensified concerns about their vulnerability. Canadian researcher Tazeen Hasan has similarly argued that fear, political disenfranchisement, and restrictions on civic space have contributed to a climate of silence surrounding missing women. These concerns deserve serious attention—not dismissal.

The disappearance of nearly 10,000 women and girls is not simply a regional issue. It is a human rights issue. Regardless of political position, ideology, or constitutional claims, every missing woman deserves to be found, every family deserves truthful answers, and every allegation deserves an impartial investigation.

Earlier, one particularly disturbing case that continues to haunt the collective memory of Kashmir is the alleged mass rape in the villages of Kunan and Poshpora in February 1991. Survivors and human rights advocates have spent decades seeking an impartial investigation into the incident. For many Kashmiri women, the unresolved nature of such cases symbolizes a broader pattern of impunity and denial of justice.

The international community should call for transparent, independent inquiries into these disappearances, ensure that families have access to information, and support mechanisms that establish accountability where evidence warrants it. Human rights cannot be selective. They must apply equally to every individual, irrespective of nationality, religion, or political affiliation.

History will ultimately judge governments not only by the security they promise but also by the rights they protect. Until the fate of these 9,765 women and girls is established through credible investigation, one question will continue to haunt Kashmir: Where are they?

Dr. Fai is also Secretary General
World Kashmir Awareness Forum.
He can be reached at: WhatsApp: 1-202-607-6435
gnfai2003@yahoo.com
www.kashmirawareness.org