By Samina Ch

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MIRPUR (AJK), Sep 23 (APP):At a sideline event during the 60th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Kashmiri Women Rights Activist (KWRA) Dr. Shugafta Ashraf has delivered a powerful address on the plight of Kashmiri women under Indian illegal occupation, calling on the international community to end its silence and take urgent action on the issue.

Speaking on the theme “Women for the Promotion and Protection of Cultural Heritage and the Construction of Sustainable Peace by 2030,” Dr. Ashraf declared: “I rise before you today with a voice that carries the pain of countless silenced women from the valley of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Their cries are drowned by the thunder of gunfire, their dignity shredded by an occupation that uses not only bullets, but also women’s bodies, as weapons of war,” said a message released to the media here on Tuesday.

Dr. Ashraf condemned the systematic use of rape by occupying forces in IIOJK, describing it as a deliberate strategy to break the spirit of women and the soul of an entire people.

Highlighting the resilience of Kashmiri women, she noted that despite curfews, violence, and repression, Kashmiri women continued to preserve their heritage through lullabies, embroidery, oral traditions, and their refusal to let identity be erased.

Challenging global narratives of “sustainability” and “peace,” she questioned their meaning for mothers who bury their sons young and for girls who grow up under constant threat to their dignity.

Urging International community to fulfill it’s responsibility, Dr. Ashraf demanded urgent global action to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war against Kashmiris, hold perpetrators accountable under international law and restore the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people, promised by the United Nations.

She stressed that Kashmiri women were not just victims but builders of peace: “Honour Kashmiri women, and you honour the heartbeat of a culture that refuses to die,” she said.

Concluding her address, Dr. Ashraf said, “History will not forgive silence. The soil of Kashmir is soaked with the tears of its women, but it also carries their unbreakable strength. Until Kashmiri women are free, peace is a lie. Until their dignity is restored, heritage is incomplete. And until justice is delivered, humanity itself remains in chains.”