South Asian feminists call for peace between India and Pakistan

APWLD urges Indian government to acknowledge root causes of Kashmir conflict

Feminists from both India and Pakistan have expressed concern on the growing tensions in the region.

In a statement, activists of the Asia Pacific Forum on Women Law and Development (APWLD) called the 'retaliatory' attacks on Kashmiris in India in the aftermath of the suicide attack in Pulwama district that claimed lives of over 40 paramilitaries as "nor acceptable or justified".

Statement: #Feminists from #India and #Pakistan call for peace in the region. We express concerns on the escalation of conflict between the two countries as women, sexual minorities and children are left without protection from violence. #SayNoToWarhttps://t.co/bXQO0hknhx pic.twitter.com/1FfCjSNVBY

— APWLD (@apwld) March 1, 2019

The group urged the Indian government to move away from its narrative of blaming Pakistan for waging a 'proxy war' and instead acknowledge the root causes of the Kashmir conflict: legitimate demands of Kashmiris and the need for demilitarisation of Indian-held Kashmir.



The activists called for peace, security and democracy as "the entire region is linked to the just resolution of the Kashmir issue, through a process which centres the voices and democratic participation of Kashmiris themselves".

The APWLD is a network of feminist organisations and grassroots activists in the Asia Pacific.

Tensions spiralled as Indian jets were shot down a day after India Air Force planes recklessly violated Pakistan’s airspace and dropped payloads in a mountainous Pakistani village and Delhi dubbed it “air strike on the biggest training camp of Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militant group” in Pakistan.

The Pakistani military exposed India’s fictitious claim and invited “anyone and everyone – including foreign diplomats, military attaches and UN military observers” – to visit the area where the Indian aircraft dropped bombs and see if any training camp existed there.

Though the Indian bombs did not cause any major damage or casualties, Pakistan vowed to retaliate against the flagrant violation of its airspace, fuelling fears of a disastrous confrontation in the region.