Every single day there’s another heartbreaking headline coming out of Kashmir

Just yesterday, we read about a young girl harassed by a staff member at School. Then that horrific gang rape in Baramulla where they even filmed it. Another girl targeted on her way to a madrasa in Budgam. And that’s not even all of it for this year. These aren’t just random bad things happening. They’re proof that something in our society is deeply broken. But what happens every time news breaks? Instead of going after the actual criminals or looking at what’s wrong with us, everyone just makes excuses, shifts the blame, or worse, points fingers at the victim.
Let’s talk about that standard excuse people love to throw around: “He has sisters and daughters at home!” People actually say, “How could he do this when he has women in his family?” But honestly, does a guy really need to have female relatives just to realize women deserve respect and safety? What if he doesn’t have any? Does that mean he gets a free pass? Saying women only deserve respect because of their relation to men is ridiculous. Women deserve safety simply because they’re human beings. End of story.
Then you have the victim-blaming and absurd logic. After what happened in Baramulla, people were actually obsessing over where she was or who she was with, as if any of that makes the crime any less horrible. It doesn’t. Rape is pure violence. It’s about power and cruelty. Dragging someone’s personal choices into this just confuses the real point, distracts from what actually happened, and protects the real criminals.
We need to be honest about our community for a second. We love calling Kashmir Peerwaer (the land of sages). We brag about our faith and values. But if we’re really that principled, why are we so quiet when things like this happen? Where’s the actual anger? When people in power try to sweep things under the rug like at Srinagar, why aren’t we making noise? Why aren’t people out protesting, boycotting these offenders, or demanding action from leaders? Staying silent just makes us part of it.
This isn’t about men v/s women or starting some gender war. It’s about basic human decency and backbone. If we keep making excuses for these acts, blaming victims, and keeping quiet when it happens right down the street, we have no right to preach about morality. We have to look in the mirror, demand real justice, hold both the criminals and our silent community accountable. Because if we don’t, nothing is ever going to change.