From rhetoric to a rights-based roadmap
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s assertion that no developed Jammu and Kashmir is possible without empowered women, at a felicitation function, is an admission that half of our population has historically been underutilised, and that the future of this UT hinges on correcting that imbalance. At the Srinagar event honouring Gender Equity Advocates, he called the initiative a “historic and revolutionary moment” for women’s empowerment. The challenge now is to ensure that such moments are not reduced to symbolism, but become markers of structural change. Kashmir’s history is indeed rich with women who have shaped its spiritual, cultural and social landscape. From custodians of shared memory within families to leaders in schools, hospitals and fields, women have long protected the social fabric. Yet this moral centrality has rarely translated into economic power, legal security or political representation. The LG’s vision of women leading schools, industries, literature, entrepreneurship, governance and public policymaking will remain aspirational unless the UT consciously dismantles the barriers that keep women at the margins.
The rollout of schemes like Hausla, Mumkin, Rise Together, Umeed, DGP Sakhi and Krishi Sakhi suggests a growing recognition that financial independence is foundational. But these programmes must be transparently implemented, periodically audited, and accessible beyond urban and better-connected pockets. In rural belts, women continue to face limited mobility, unpaid care burdens, and social stigma around work and leadership. Without addressing these ground realities, interventions risk becoming fragmented welfare rather than a coherent empowerment strategy. Significantly, girls are now securing 70–75 percent of university gold medals. The paradox is stark: our daughters top examinations but struggle to find workplaces free of discrimination, harassment and glass ceilings. If the state believes in their talent, it must back that belief with safe public spaces, gender-sensitive policing, robust legal aid, and workplace policies that do not penalise marriage or motherhood. The LG has also expressed confidence that women’s political representation will increase after 2029. That confidence must be anchored in concrete measures, timely implementation of reservations where promised, capacity-building for aspiring women leaders, and a political culture that does not reduce women to proxies for male relatives. Finally, the call for youth and men to support women’s leadership is crucial. Empowerment cannot be outsourced to schemes alone; it demands a shift in social attitudes, beginning within homes, schools and local institutions. If Jammu and Kashmir genuinely believes that a girl’s dreams are “valuable” and her voice “matters”, then policy, politics and everyday practice must align with that belief. Only then will women’s empowerment move from the language of events to the lived reality of a more just and developed J&K.
