The monstrous symmetries between the Israeli carpet bombing of Gaza in July 2014 & the Indian military siege of Kashmir in July 2016 are a nightmare to witness. Hell to endure.

Some consider war & occupation on a par in a menu of social injustices & horrors but the socialist political tradition considers them preeminent concerns to which everything else is subordinated. That doesn’t require dropping other social struggles but incorporating them into antiwar & anti-occupation movements: women marching in solidarity with women under siege, anti-racist & civil rights activists marching against the racism of these onslaughts, environmentalists marching against the destruction wrought by bombs & plunder.

During the 2014 siege of Gaza, over a million people from every hamlet & metropolis around the world protested the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. In this siege of Kashmir, despite the prevailing international news blackout, thousands are protesting in what may be the most massive public support for Kashmir ever. That solidarity is the work of Kashmiri activists on social media who are now prioritizing breaking the news blackout.

If some think it’s too much Kashmir too much of the time, that’s the nature of campaigning against war & occupation.
‪

#‎FreeKashmir‬

The hard-hitting journalistic compromises of the Guardian-UK regarding the Palestinian struggle that allow Israel to get away with murder are only rivaled by its coverage of Kashmir.

In the midst of a murderous military siege–or what the Guardian calls the “ninth consecutive day of curfew”–this is what the Guardian published: a photo of cows feeding on rubbish.

There is one noteworthy change however. Where previously the location would be identified in “Srinagar, India,” here it is located in “Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir.”

Use social media to tell the truth: Long live Kashmiri Intifada. End the occupation. Self-determination for Kashmir.

(Photo by Dar Yasin/AP)

Before anyone goes off half-cocked denouncing Pakistani culture about the “honor killing” of Qandeel Baloch in that country, it isn’t even certain that it was an honor killing but rather her brother’s alibi for a grubby drug-related homicide.

An understanding of honor killings needs to be wrested back from the realm of hating on Muslims & war mongering & considered in the context of the global problem of homicidal misogyny & violence against women.

They don’t have reliable, specific estimates of those murdered in honor killings because like most crimes against women thousands go unreported or the perpetrators unpunished because of juridical sanctions.

What is known is that honor killing is an international phenomenon practiced on every continent & not just in Middle Eastern & Asian countries. They also know that honor killings include all cultures & religions & are not specific to Muslim societies as media portrays it.

“Honor killings” is a loaded term in the context of Islamophobia. They are akin to what are more delicately termed “crimes of passion” in western societies. But the not so subtle intention of both terms is to suggest that the murder of women is in some way excusable or understandable.

As violence against women in every malignant form increases around the world, we must link the struggle against it to the struggles against war & occupation & not let our movement be hijacked by the war mongers.