Few dimensions of the Kashmir conflict reveal the intersection of security, human rights, and competing political narratives as clearly as the experiences of women. Since 1947, Jammu and Kashmir has remained at the centre of the territorial dispute between India and Pakistan, marked by political unrest, siege and search operations, and prolonged military deployment. Within this context, women have experienced the conflict through multiple forms of violence and insecurity, including sexual violence, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, displacement, and psychological trauma. Pakistan has repeatedly highlighted these concerns in international forums, presenting them as evidence of the human costs of militarization in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. This article examines the principal forms of gender-based violence documented in the conflict, the evidence surrounding these allegations, and the competing Indian and Pakistani narratives through which women’s experiences have been interpreted and represented internationally.

Human Rights Watch’s 1993 report Rape in Kashmir documented that indian forces used sexual violence as a systematic method of retaliation against civilians following terrorist attacks. A notable incident is the gang rape in 1991 in Kannan and Poshpora in Kupwara district, where residents reported that soldiers of the 4th Rajputana Rifles raped up to twenty-three women during a seige-and-search operation. Despite a court-ordered reopening, survivors and human rights organizations maintain that justice has been denied for over three decades.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued reports in 2018 and 2019 detailing enforced disappearances, custodial abuse, and sexual violence. A central concern highlighted in these findings is the “chronic impunity” enabled by the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which requires central government authorization before military personnel can be prosecuted in civilian courts, an authorization that New Delhi has not granted in three decades of application. Parallel findings by the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women (2014) similarly noted that the legal immunity framework severely impairs the safety and dignity of women in the region.

Local data further reflect these compounding pressures, with cumulative figures since 1989 documenting more than 11,269 reported cases of sexual assault and molestation in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. Local civil society advocates linked this to prolonged militarization, a dense male security presence, and weakened avenues for legal redress. After the revocation of Articles 370 and 35A, the lockdown and prolonged internet blackouts introduced severe operational challenges for women. Academic and rights-based analyses indicate that communication blockades hindered access to maternal healthcare, emergency medical services, and domestic violence support helplines. Furthermore, Amnesty International and international observers noted that the introduction of new domicile and property laws created concerns regarding demographic shifts, alongside heightened legal barriers for local civil society organizations attempting to document human rights violations.

Pakistan frames the situation in IIOJ&K as an unresolved international dispute under UNSC resolutions and International Law. Following the 2019 status changes, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic relations, raised the issue at the UNSC with China’s support, and involved the OIC. Pakistani diplomats frequently cite the 2018 and 2019 OHCHR reports as independent verification of human rights concerns under prolonged curfews and communication restrictions. Pakistani scholarship situates gender-based violence within a self-determination framework, arguing that structural impunity will persist as long as the territorial dispute remains unresolved, rendering women’s rights advocacy integral to the broader diplomatic campaign.

The Government of India rejects the 2018 and 2019 OHCHR reports as biased violations of national sovereignty. Furtehrmore New Delhi maintains that the 2019 constitutional changes were an internal integration measure designed to extend nationwide legal protections, including gender-equity laws, directly to residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

Documented evidence indicates that long-standing militarization and legal immunity mechanisms in Indian occupied jammu Kashmir have severely impacted women’s security and civil freedoms. While Pakistan utilizes these documented patterns to argue for international intervention and self-determination, India views security operations as lawful counter-terrorism efforts and internal administrative matters. Addressing these challenges requires independent access for international observers across both sides of the LoC, legal reform surrounding immunity provisions such as AFSPA, and structured bilateral dialogue that incorporates the protection and political representation of Kashmiri women directly into peace processes.

The author is a student at the International Islamic University, Islamabad, and is currently serving as a researcher at the Kashmir Institute of International Relations, Islamabad.