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10 Socio-Legal Rev. 14 (2014)
Rape, Impunity and Justice in Kashmir

handle is hein.journals/soclerev10 and id is 25 raw text is: RAPE, IMPUNITY AND JUSTICE IN KASHMIR Seema Kazi* This article focuses on rape by security forces in the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir and the question of accountability and justice for sexual crimes committed by State forces in the Kashmir Valley. Moving beyond the 'violence against women'frame, the instrumental use of rape by security forces as a cultural, political and psychological weapon of war is highlighted, as is the denial of institutional justice for the same. The suggestion here is that the question of justice for sexual crimes by state forces in Kashmir must be situated within the overarching context of the abuse of power by executive and military authority, and the unquestioned subversion of local civil and judicial authority. This particular institutional setting and policy it is further argued, justifies the case for international legal intervention in Kashmir. The Indian's state's claim to jurisdiction over the territory of Kashmir is assessed with reference to international law; the universality of the legal principle of self-determination is emphasised, as is the salience of international law regarding sexual crimes by state forces. Drawing upon Kashmir's international legal dimensions in general and its legacy of rape by security forces in particular, the article concludes by advancing a single moral argument for Kashmiri self-determination. 1. BACKGROUND This article focuses on rape by security forces in Kashmir and the question of justice for sexual crimes committed by State forces against Kashmiri women. For reasons of clarity and consistency I use the term 'Kashmir' to refer to the Valley of Kashmir - also the location of the present conflict. The term 'Jammu and Kashmir' is used to connote the Indian-administered state of Jammu and * The author is a Senior Fellow, Centre for Women's Development Studies (CWDS) and the author of 'Between Democracy and Nation: Gender and Militarization in Kashmir.'

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