The attack has brought the politics of gender in the conflict to centre stage. Women are being used instrumentally while pushing the larger narrative of payback.
However, amidst the din, women survivors of the tragedy spoke their minds. Some questioned the massive security lapse that had resulted in the attack. Several others emphasised how Kashmiris around the spot became the first responders, taking them to safety when no official help was on hand.
While demanding justice, Himanshi Narwal appealed for peace and spoke against hate-mongering against Muslims and Kashmiris. Shortly after, she found herself at the receiving end of vile trolling.
The woman who had been held up as the ideal wife and projected as the poster girl of the grief caused by the terror attack was dragged down from the pedestal and her character was besmirched. But why this drastic shift in script? It is because Narwal violated the template of the grieving wife. She was expected to be helpless and lose hope. Her wails would then activate the drums of war. However, her call for peace was an act of defiance and a rebellion against the politics of hate.
But why this drastic shift in script? It is because Narwal violated the template of the grieving wife. She was expected to be helpless and lose hope. Her wails would then activate the drums of war. However, her call for peace was an act of defiance and a rebellion against the politics of hate.
Why did the terrorists spare the women in the first place? They were not acting chivalrous, not by any measure. They aimed to use women as bearers of their message to the Indian government.
Women are being used as instruments of politics. The attackers aimed to use women to spread their message of terror. Hatemongers were angered when Narwal refused to participate in their campaign against Muslims and Kashmiris in India.
Both sides aim to portray women as the perfect victims – helpless and voiceless, devoid of agency. Both sides are motivated by hate-filtered narratives in which the lives of these grieving women are nothing but an instrument for their ends.
09/05/2025