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Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Asiya Andrabi is no women’s rights advocate. She does not speak for Indian Muslims

International news media calling Asiya Andrabi a defender of women’s rights shows how narratives are constructed and what they choose to omit.

Kashmiri separatist Asiya Andrabi’s son wrote a message after she was given life imprisonment in March. Some described it as a plea on behalf of his mother, but he framed it not as an appeal, but as a reminder of what he called a systematic effort to suppress political dissent.

The irony was difficult to ignore. Andrabi’s son Ahmad was sent abroad to study and build a life for himself, while the organisation she founded, Dukhtaran-e-Millat, drew many young people into a cycle of agitation and violence—some radicalised, others losing their lives in the process.

For those who don’t know, for one instance, Andrabi was a central figure in the “Quit Jammu and Kashmir” 2010 campaign, mobilising support through her network during periods of unrest that left over a hundred people dead. Many of them were young.

Asiya Andrabi’s religious vision

I was surprised by the relative absence of international coverage around it. There was little in the way of sustained coverage or opinion—beyond a handful of pieces in international........

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