Kavita Suri is a journalist having 10 years' professional experience in journalism (both print and electronic). Presently working for The Statesman, one of the oldest English dailies of India as its Senior Staff Correspondent based in Jammu and Kashmir, she has worked with various newspapers starting from The Kashmir Times, The Tribune etc. She covers entire state, travels to the Line of Control, International Border and other conflict areas in all the three regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh of the troubled State. Kavita was also recently invited to United States for three weeks by the US state department on "US International Visitors Exchange Program". She has made many documentaries and films for Doordarshan's satellite Kashmir Channel and Jammu and Srinagar DDKs. As women have suffered badly in the strife-torn state due to ongoing conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, gender issues are very close to her heart. Her 'Echoes from the Mountains' would keep our readers updated about all these issues of the mountainous state and its surrounding areas.

For the past one and a half decade of terrorism, the Kashmiri women faced the burnt and remained its worst victim. But not any longer. Incredible but it is true. The women of border district of Poonch-Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir have picked up guns against terrorists and thus are protecting themselves from the militants and saving their honour and dignity.

This all women brigade - the first women Village Defence Committee (VDC) has been set up in the twin villages of Marah and Kulali bordering district Poonch. The scene is very different there as compared to other villages. One would find women with guns standing on the rooftops guarding their homes. The VDC members including women get together from cluster of houses and lay ambushes on routes of ingress to that cluster in order to save any civilian killings.

"Having suffered much on the hands of terrorists, a turning point came when in village Katha in this border district on 26 June last year, militants killed twelve women and children. Many incidents of sexual assaults and torture of many women and young girls were also reported. Thus, the women folk of the area who had been "mute sufferers of terrorism" made up their mind to fight against the terrorists. They showed their willingness to get weapons and training from the security forces to protect themselves and their children from militants' excesses," informed Major General G.D.Bakshi who heads the counter-insurgency Romeo Force in Rajouri.

This all-women VDC organizes security on its own for any civil gathering or a national or political event, keeps track of any strange and unauthorized person entering the village and keeps a check on his activities. Besides women, the children and old persons too, have shown willingness to use weapons against militants due to security at home.

The excesses of foreign terrorists on civilians and sexual assault on local women have forced the local population including women and children to pick up gun against them. Terrorists are forcing many locals to work as porters without any payment, committing rape on women and minor girls, utilizing the money, assets and resources of locals for their own use.

"Thus, a strong need was being felt to provide these innocent civilians with some type of self-defence which lead to generation of the idea of a fourth force multiplier," he added.  

Village Defence Committee of Marah is just not simple organization but is a new force to reckon with. The VDC Marah now has become a role model for others. It has emerged as local force including trained women and children. The Village Defence Committees were set up in Jammu and Kashmir in mid-nineties following a number of massacres of the innocent villagers in far flung villages of the troubled region. As the police or army pickets were far off from the civilian areas in these inaccessible villages resulting which the terrorists made these people as their soft targets, the concept of VDCs emerged wherein the civilians were imparted training for self defence and thus repulse terrorist-attack. The state police provided them weapons. Till now, the VDC members were men in arms doing their routine work and had some defense power against terrorists. During day most of them remain outside their homes to earn livelihood, leaving female and children besides the old persons. But now, women have also joined the men in these VDC. To repulse any attack, the VDC women wing has been constituted. "The VDC is organized in an infantry company pattern and to give them a sense of pride and belongingness the platoons and sections have been named after the local mohallas and this has worked wonders," said an army officer posted in the area adding presently there are four platoons and twelve sections and one section of women wing. The training of VDC members is organized at a regular basis at security force company posts and the members are given weapon training which include firing, basic handling and cleaning of weapon, tactical training including minor tactics, battle craft and field craft drills to including stalking, crawling, fire and move. View and Post comment on this article The contents of the article are Copyright © of SAWF and may not be reproduced in any form without prior written permission from the author.