Suhail Khan
For exactly one day every year, the world remembers. Speeches are made, events are organised, and women are felicitated for their contributions to family and society. Social media feeds fill up with gratitude. It is a necessary ritual, but for the women of Kashmir, it is also a deceptive one.
Come March 9, the applause fades, and the familiar silence returns. The man who posted a tribute for his mother the night before might think nothing of passing a lewd remark on the street the next morning. The same society that celebrates the ‘nation-builder’ on Women’s Day often fails to see her as an equal partner in building anything at all.
This disconnect between ceremonial reverence and daily reality is Kashmir’s enduring contradiction. Women here play every conceivable role—mother, sister, wife, friend, professional. They are the emotional anchors of families and, increasingly, the public face of ambition in education and careers. As mothers, they shape the conscience of the next generation. As wives, they are the co-architects of households. Yet, this labour of love and duty is rarely met with the currency of respect.
The numbers and lived experiences tell a grim story. Harassment in public spaces, casual misogyny, and in too many cases, domestic violence remain endemic. The very men who owe their successes to the women behind them—their mothers, sisters, wives—are often the ones perpetuating this cycle of subjugation. It raises an uncomfortable question: What is the point of celebrating women if the men around them refuse to change?
To be clear, the problem is not that Kashmiri women lack agency or ambition. They have proven, time and again, that they can compete and excel in every field. The problem lies with the male gaze that refuses to evolve. It is a failure to recognise that a woman on the street, in the office, or at home is not a symbol or an object, but a human being with the same desires, dreams, and rights.
This year, as Women’s Day comes around, the common man in Kashmir has an opportunity. Not to post a picture or recite a poem, but to engage in genuine introspection. To understand that respect is not a seasonal gift but a daily requirement. To realise that a society that cannot guarantee the safety and dignity of its women has no claim to progress.
The change we need is not in the calendar, but in the conscience. It is time to ensure that for the women of Kashmir, every day feels like the day they are finally seen as what they have always been: the true architects of our future.
