WASHINGTON, April 30 (APP): Schoolgirls in the Indian occupied Kashmir have now taken to the street to fight to join male protesters in a sign that fight for freedom from the Indian is spiraling out of control.
According to a Washington Post report, the new wave of violence that broke out in April and saw killing several Kashmiri Muslims is now taking a new turn as young girls wearing headscarves and school uniforms have now come out and joined the protest.
“A lot of these boys have been killed…..Now girls will go out and protest for freedom,” the report quoting Nisha Zahoor, 18, a senior student, said.
The new turn in the freedom struggle comes at a time when Indian
troops have become more brutal, killing young Kashmiri boys and use of pellet guns have left hundreds of protesters blind. An incident that involves use of a Kashmiri boy as human shield by the Indian troops has sent a wave of anger across the valley.
While Indian officials are hoping to control this new wave of violence, the report said that many see the presence of the young girls in protest as a sign that the security situation in the valley is getting out of control.
The present wave of violence erupted in
July last year when Indian
troops killed a young Kashmiri freedom fighter Burhan Wani, leading to the death nearly 100 more protesters by the Indian forces.
New violence hit the region after Indian Army soldiers beat students
in a school that have continued this month leading to the death of several more. This incident provoked more violence and included girls for the first time, the report said.
“It’s a new form of protest because you have this other gender being a part of it now,” Sadaf Bushra, an assistant journalism professor at Central University, said.
Kashmiri girls are just like normal girls who like music, but growing
up in one of the more heavily militarized areas as taken its toll. They call security forces “black dogs” and “Indian dogs,” the report said.
Only one of the Kashmiri girls, according to the report, said she
wanted to remain part of India. One student described police raids in her neighborhood every night and another Kashmiri girl tearfully told how her 16-year old brother was killed by the Indian troops.
http://www.app.com.pk/kashmiri-girls-take-on-indian-troops-after-boys-take-heavy-toll/
