Violence against women on the rise

Rifat Mohidin

Srinagar, December 19

With the police yet to find those behind the recent acid attack on a student in Srinagar, the incident has highlighted threats of violence being faced by the women in the state, which are on the rise in the last two years.

The 21-year-old student was attacked with acid outside her college in Srinagar last week, which severely injured her eyes and face. In a similar incident last year, a 30-year-old teacher was attacked with acid in Parraypora, Srinagar. However, the culprit was immediately arrested.

According to official figures, violence against women in the state has seen an increase from the last two years. Statistics of the state police’’s Crime Branch revealed that there had been an increase in cases of rape, molestation, eve-teasing and cruelty by husbands in the state.

In 2012, 303 rape cases were reported to the police, while 378 rape cases were registered in the state, an increase of 75 cases in 2013. There was also an increase in cases of molestation. In 2012, 1,322 molestation cases were registered, while in 2013 the cases increased by 67 more, which was 1,389 in 2013.

Women have also faced violence from their families and culprits in many cases have been their husbands. There were 428 cases of cruelty by husband in 2013, an increase by 127 cases from 2012, the police figures have revealed.

In an incident in south Kashmir’s Anantnag in February this year, a girl was found dead in mysterious circumstances. The police later found she was murdered by her relative and traced jealously as the main motive behind the murder. In 2009, two teenagers knocked down a 17-year-old girl student with their vehicle. The girl student died on the spot.