Kashmiri women, once again, are on the receiving end of the long-standing conflict and war. Decades of living in fear of losing their loved ones, insecurity, abuse and day to day violation of their dignity have made them no more than scapegoats of the political conundrum. As per police reports, there have been more than hundred cases of alleged braid chopping. People more so women are living in perpetual fear of being attacked. Women of any age group are afraid to leave home, are sleeping with multiple layers around their heads and often waking up in panic even by a ticking clock. Vigilante groups have cropped up who are indiscriminately attacking anyone they feel responsible of braid chopping and as a result, many innocents both local and from outside the valley ended up black and blue. Common people have turned into lynch mobs although the braid chopping incidents are going on without a break and no amount of vigilantism is having any effect. Many women have reported that men are using braid chopping to make fun of them. There is nothing funny about it even when joking. Sadly this is another sad reality of the patriarchal society we live in.
People are divided as to who is behind all this, with most believing that this sinister game is being played to harass the local population as part of psych-ops. Some believe that this is due to an epidemic of mental health problems and women who allege braid chopping are doing it to themselves. Few are blaming the wayward in the neighbourhood trying to have some fun, trying to get a hold on valuables, and what not. The protest demonstrations by the opposition parties and potential flaring up of the cause make some believe that they may be paying off their agents to become nocturnal barbers. Last but not the least, the deep mistrust of Indian state and current regime makes them the prime perpetrator of the heinous act for most Kashmiris. Let us not forget that the rumour mill, fear, and hypervigilance make it impossible to let reason make any sense of the situation. After months of violent political turmoil, this braid chopping epidemic has diverted the attention of people from the core political issues and impending Article 370 abrogation pending in the courts.
With the top cop of the state openly declares that it is all because of ‘depression and attention seeking’ and proposal to do narco-analysis or lie detector test of the women reporting such trauma, this is no more than treating the victims of this travesty as criminals of the lowest order. The argument that cases of braid chopping have been reported from Nepal to Delhi and then Kashmir points to hysterical nature of the act, but one could argue that compared to rest of the places, the epidemic number of incidents in Kashmir are beyond reasonable proportions. Although we may never know for sure what is causing the braid chopping and even if we assume all the cases are because of psychological reasons, how do treating the victims as offenders help the situation. This is making the state of fear worse leading to further mayhem. This is no way to reassure the population that the state machinery is there to protect them. If it is being suggested that this whole menace is a product of fear and heightened response from a subjugated population, no steps are being taken to make them feel safe. It is hard to think of a person or a political party on any side of the divide who has the power or aura or command to reassure the masses. The Chief Minister of the state has already lost all credibility and whatever she may say, would probably mean nothing to the general public, but if she had acted sooner, maybe there would have been some impact. Same is true for the opposition parties and even the Hurriyat camp. This is not the time to play politics or to use the poor victims as a trophy to prove a point.
If the authorities are certain that these incidents are due to psychological reasons or what they call in common language ‘mass hysteria’, would it not have made sense that people were reassured and not threatened further. With the authorities claiming there is an epidemic of emotional disturbances in the population; one could ask the question, who is responsible for that? There is no dearth of data suggesting that most of the population have experienced trauma in one way or the other. Not a single day goes without news of killing in some part of the valley. Hundreds have died in last few years and many more have been brutalised, blinded and maimed. When the whole population is living in an open prison, under the shadow of a gun where life can be taken any minute and no one is sure of the safety of themselves or their loved ones, how does the State expect people not to suffer? Isn’t there an abject hopelessness and lack of certainty in masses with no one knowing what is in store for them? The occupation not only controls physically but also mentally.
No matter which hand holds the scissors to cut the braid, the ultimate responsibility still lies with the State. The brutal conflict and draconian laws have over the years made people vulnerable, and it is no surprise we may see them coping by methods which may mean self-harming at times. But rather than supporting them through their pain and suffering, if the State wants to put them through denigrating lie detector tests, why would they trust the state machinery or police forces for a minute. However, the age-old method of victim shaming and shunning the responsibility is hardly surprising. The victims are traumatised and need support than accusatory fingers. Again it does not matter who cuts the braid, another person or their own hand, the trauma suffered by the victims is same. The genius who is proposing the lie detector test needs to understand that if this is happening in a dissociative state, the victim would not remember the event anyway hence there is no scope of lying.
Victims need to be supported, listened to and not interrogated. The mental health professionals have a duty to educate people, offer training and support to local doctors, community leaders and voluntary workers. It is not late for the state to own the responsibility, reassure people and give up the accusatory tone and the ridiculous plans to torment the victims by further interrogation. The culture of fear, suppression, draconian laws, undue use of force, pellet guns etcetera needs to go to prevent such mayhem in future. Just blaming mental health issues is not good enough when nothing is being done to address the problem. War zones are ugly places to live in and can bring worst out of people, however, compared to the rest of the world, Kashmiris have proved to be more resilient and not to succumb to the viciousness.
It is prudent that civil society takes charge to ease the suffering. Community leaders, Imams, and volunteers can play a major role in educating people; control the mobs so that any violence is prevented. There is no room for vigilantism and lynch mobs to deal with this situation. The attacks on innocents need to stop as this is not going to end someone’s hair being chopped. Reassuring masses and controlling the general fear is the solution and not the other way round.
