22,944 women widowed in IIOJK since 1989: report.

ISLAMABAD -- As the world is observing the International Widows Day today, miseries and victimization of the Kashmiri women at the hands of Indian troops, police and agencies continue unabated in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

According to a report released by the Research Section of reporter on the occasion of the International Widows Day, the unabated Indian state terrorism rendered 22,944 women widowed since January 1989 till date as their husbands were martyred by Indian military, paramilitary and police personnel.

It said over two hundred women whose husbands were subjected to custodial disappearance after their arrest by Indian troops and police during the last 34 years are referred to as half widows.

According the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons and other human rights groups in IIOJK, more than 8,000 men have disappeared in the custody of Indian troops and police personnel since 1989, it said. For years, half-widows in IIOJK have been running from one Indian army and paramilitary camps to another trying to find whereabouts of their husbands, it added.

The report maintained that over 650 women have been martyred by the troops and paramilitary forces since January 2001 till date. It pointed out that womenfolk constitutes the majority of the Kashmiris suffering from multiple psychic problems.

'Due to unending agony, Kashmiri widows, half-widows are suffering from psychological problems. As per a study, women comprise more than 60% of psychiatric patients in IIOJK,' it added.

The report said the Kashmiri women were targeted for raising their voice against Indian brutalities. Dozens of women including Aasiya Andrabi, Fehmeeda...