Autonomy under siege

"What should I have told you then?" asked the young Kashmiri woman when activists pointed to gaps in her account of sexual violence perpetrated by a high-ranking police officer.  Her poignant question encapsulates the gamut of issues related to sexual violence and militarisation. How does a woman recount her story and get acknowledgment of the brutal violation of her rights when gender-based violence has been an integral part of armed conflict throughout history? How does a woman elucidate on details of brutality when in society sexual matters are considered inappropriate for public discussion and there is a tendency to avoid thinking about such horrors? How does a woman challenge the might of the state when there is a hostile environment for victims and judicial institutions fail to provide safe spaces?

Furthermore, as Dr. Yakin Erturk, former UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, points out in an article for Open Democracy, "militarised environments empower both public and private patriarchy". Human rights advocates have also pointed out that militarisation facilitates censorship and secrecy, and the rhetoric of 'national security' that accompanies militarised environments is effectively employed to deny people the freedom of expression and avenues to pursue justice.