Srinagar, Sep 19: A senior women’s leader has strongly opposed what she described as a growing tendency to portray Kashmiri women as responsible for the region’s moral, cultural and social challenges, asserting that women must not be made scapegoats for complex societal problems.

Speaking in her capacity as Vice President of a women’s organisation, she said no society could claim moral strength while allowing women to be publicly shamed, stereotyped or collectively blamed for problems they did not create.
“Kashmiri women are not the problem to be solved. They are part of the solution,” she said.
She underlined the contribution of Kashmiri women in raising families, educating children, caring for the elderly, serving in hospitals and schools, contributing to the economy and preserving the region’s cultural heritage.
She said women’s dignity should not be judged through their appearance, clothing or personal choices, asserting that dignity was an inherent right and not something society could grant or withdraw.
“If there are concerns about changing social values, family structures, substance abuse, violence, unemployment, educational challenges or the pressures facing our young people, then we must have the courage to address these issues directly,” she said.
The women’s leader cautioned against placing the burden of society’s anxieties on women or turning them into convenient targets for complex problems.
“Do not confuse public condemnation with moral leadership,” she said.
She also called upon religious scholars and community leaders to exercise responsibility while shaping public discourse. Their guidance, she said, should promote compassion, dignity, responsibility and justice rather than humiliation, suspicion or collective blame.
She maintained that society could debate values, culture and social change while still preserving dignity and mutual respect.
“The answer to our social challenges is not the silencing of women, but their meaningful participation in addressing them,” she said.
She stressed that girls should grow up knowing that they belong in society rather than feeling compelled to constantly defend their character, while mothers and sisters deserved gratitude and respect rather than suspicion and ridicule.
“Every Kashmiri woman deserves to live with dignity, safety, agency and the freedom to participate fully in society without being collectively blamed for its failures,” she said.
Clarifying that her stand was not a rejection of faith, culture or tradition, she said, “Faith without compassion loses its purpose, tradition without dignity loses its meaning, and reform without justice becomes another form of injustice.”
She called for replacing accusation with understanding, humiliation with dialogue and collective blame with collective responsibility.
“A society does not become stronger by putting its women on trial. It becomes stronger when it stands beside them,” she said.
“Kashmiri women are not society’s scapegoats. They are its strength, its conscience and an essential part of its future,” she added.