Parveena Ahangar: The Iron Lady Of Kashmir

Parveena Ahangar

The Valley We live in is the only place in the world where there are Enormous Civilians who suddenly got disappeared from their homes and never Returned.. Thousands of Families in the valley are still longing for their loved ones but Only God Knows where they are, Are they alive or they have Sunk beneath the soil… A Valley where everyone lives With fear ,Where everyone’s lips are sealed and where speaking up costs ones life and Where no body has shown any sort of concern for the enforced disappearances that took place in the past and still Continue to be a routine,It’s extremely hard to produce a personality boosted with Courage and Legendary Skills… At the same time,The one thing that I admire most about my valley is that it continues to be the Mother of brave and fearless people & from time to time it has produced such gems.. one such personality is Mrs Parveena Ahangar Popularly Known as “Iron Lady Of Kashmir “and Yes rightly She is..

Mrs Parveena Ahangar is a very Respectful, Kind-hearted and Simple personality who hails From District Srinagar of Kashmir valley.. She can always be seen Holding a placard in her hand saying “Where Are Our Loved Ones”.. The reason why she always does so can be heard from Her Interview with BBC in which she said ” In August 1990,My Son (Javaid ahmad- 17 years old) was picked up by Indian Security Forces from batamaloo and after that he never returned home till date”.. She is 52 years old lady and has just got preliminary education.. In today’s world, Such education is not recognised at all but As a result of her bravery and fearless approach towards Injustice & tyranny,She became a symbol of excellence for many people in Our valley who managed to Search for her disappeared son in Kashmir and whole India and has visited many countries as part of “Association of parents of Disappeared persons “..

Parveena Ahangar travelled every inch to search for her son and she failed everytime.. She’s not sure whether her son is alive or dead and If he’s no more, still she won’t be able to find him as there are Millions of Unidentified and unmarked graves in Kashmir.. During her search for son, Parveena visited a lot of Police stations, Courts, Army camps, And other Places aimed at delivering the justice but everytime justice was denied..this was the most crucial phase in her life when she lost all her faith in Indian Judiciary and the Illogical Articles that are Framed within the constitution of india..It was during this time when she came in contact with several other families going through the same phase.. Along with the support of those families, it was in 1994 that APDP (association of parents of Disappeared persons was formed) and from that day onwards parveena came to be known as a reputed human rights activist of the valley.. Today APDP is world wide recognised human rights association and the members of APDP under the headship of Parveena Ahangar have visited several Places in the world to mark their Protest.. She along with many other families of Kashmir are fighting for justice since 30 years and This criminal injustice is hurting many people in a parallal manner..

In June 2014,Parveena Ahangar delivered a lecture at university of Westminster in which she said “Nobody understands a mother’s pain. I’m a victim, there are many like us. APDP originated out of my pain, and pain of hundreds of mothers like me.”.. For protesting against enforced cum involuntary Disappearances in Kashmir valley with great Enthusiasm, In 2016 She was awarded “thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize ” While attending a human rights annual conference in bergen, Norway & was also nominated for Nobel Peace Prize in the year 2005..she was also named one among top 100 most influential and inspiring women by BBC in Oct 2019..Indian media Channel CNN IBN also nominated Parveena for an award before some time but she rejected it on account of the Misleading and Terrible approach of Indian media towards the Sorrows, Unending pain and Tradgedies of Kashmiri people..

APDP stated as a valley wide mission to help, Aid,Support, Stabilise and for demanding justice to the victims of Violence & The struggling families of the valley whose loved ones have been /are being picked up and never returned back.. Thorough APDP, parveena Ahangar has been able to surface her protest in many countries like phillipines, thialand, Indonesia, Geneva, Cambodia , London etc..in Kashmir, such peaceful gathering often ends in police crackdown.. It was through the collective effort of APDP members that Human Rights Watch urged the Indian authorities to establish an independent commission on “disappearances” and fake encounter killings, one that is empowered to compel both the testimony of state agents and the disclosure of documents, although no such thing came into practice..
We should Salute and dignify the tenacity, Courage, and bravery that people like Parveena Ahangar exemplify with sharp feeling of sadness. Her story Like many other Kashmiris is a powerful account of violence, loss, pain, fear, and longing.. Like many other People of the valley, I long for a chance to meet her someday and i’m pretty sure Almighty will fullfil my wish…

Zubair Zahoor is a student at department of Chemistry, University Of Kashmir and a Writer For Local Newspapers Such as Greater Kashmir, Brighter Kashmir, Rising Kashmir… EMAIL: [email protected]


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