In a time where Kashmiri narratives were male centric and male dominated, Aasiya Jeelani emerged as a carrier of justice for Kashmiri women. A courageous journalist, she chose to work for the truth of her people in a political and national climate which subdued the voices of Kashmiris. As Kashmiri women now take space in the Kashmiri Resistance Movement, they tribute the journalist-activist who paved the path for them to do so.
While current day Kashmir struggles under the abrogation of article 370, we remember one of the first women who tried her best to bring justice to Kashmiris, and more particularly, to Kashmiri women.
Early Life
Aasiya Jeelani was born in Kashmir on February 9th, 1974 and grew up in the ambit of curfews and crackdowns, events that tainted her youth and shaped her identity. She attended a convent school in Srinagar, and later earned a Bachelor’s in Science. She completed her masters in Journalism from the University of Kashmir. Her childhood friend, Dr. Shabina Miraj talked about Aasiya Jeelani’s involvement in the resistance movement and what eventually led her to be an activist:
Journalism and a push towards Kashmiri struggles
Aasiya Jeelani’s first job in journalism was as a researcher and trainee reporter at Agence France Presse’s (AFP), Kashmir Bureau, in the year 1998. AFP became a platform for her to solidify and ground her journalistic skills, and started her career as a researcher. In 2001, Aasiya decided to start working at the Times of India. This time period allowed her to grow as a journalist, and she settled in Delhi. However, she soon felt disenchanted from the work she was doing.
This cognitive dissonance left her feeling vulnerable and lost, and pushed her to leave her life of comfort and privilege in Delhi to move back to Kashmir. Thus began her most memorable work with The Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS). Aasiya wanted to give words to the struggles of Kashmiri women and their traumatic experiences, both from the Indian Army, as well as the patriarchal structures that dictated them. This instigated her journey towards intersectional Kashmiri activism.
Activism and the Feminist Resistance
Aasiya Jeelani’s work in activism was a breakthrough within the fight against human rights violations in Kashmir. Aasiya worked in JKCCS on fact finding and research, and was a part of publishing reports on disappeared people in Kashmir under the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP). With JKCCS, she worked on publishing reports about human rights violations that take place in Kashmir.
In this manner, Aasiyaa created a platform for women to raise their voices and concerns within a state that constantly prevented them from doing so. She spoke the truth in a time where journalists and activists were punished for writing about the reality of Kashmir. She worked hard to speak this truth, and was brave and resilient throughout. These contributions were immensely imperative, and set the stage for the feminist Kashmiri narrative as it is known today.
In addition to stories and reports, Aasiya Jeelani also tried to help the victims of gendered violence in Kashmir. She visited Chennai to train for launching self, help groups for women in Kashmir. According to Parvez Imroz, a human rights lawyer, receiver of the Rafto Prize, and president of JKCCS, Aasiya wanted to initiate action to help victims become self-sustaining rather than dependent. She also wanted the self-help groups to exist in all villages in Kashmir. He highlighted how Aasiya had moved beyond the restrains of an upper middle class background and perspective, and understood the actuality of Kashmir through the lens of disprivileged Kashmiris.
Death
On 20th April 2004, Aasiya decided to join Khurram Parvez, a human rights defender and current coordinator of JKCCS, on an election monitoring and fact finding mission on the then parliamentary elections. She was ill at the time, yet volunteered be a part of the election monitoring team going to a small district in Kashmir called Kupwara. Their job was to monitor the polling in these districts and determine whether elections were fair and legitimate, and whether they had any value in the heavily armed conflict zone. While on this assignment, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was detonated, causing the car in which both Aasiya Jeelani and Khurram Parvez were seated together. The IED severely injured Aasiya, and she succumbed to her injuries on the way to a hospital.
The perpetrator of Aasiya’s death is unknown, but investigations were conducted in order to find out how Aasiya was killed. Her death devastated her family and friends, and was a visible loss from the list of people who spoke the truth about Kashmir. Election monitoring was halted for a while. After her funeral, JKCCS decided to continue fact finding on the election process, and released a report dedicated to her.
