This is a superb statement by Kashmiri feminists & male supporters on the relationship between the MeToo movement & the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination. They aren’t addressing a new problem nor certainly a problem unique to Kashmir since sexual harassment & even assault have long been issues in several progressive social movements, including Black liberation, the antiwar, & socialist movements. The statement also brilliantly ties the MeToo movement among Indian women to the struggle against the use of sexual violence by Indian occupying forces in Kashmir when it says:
“…we would like to draw the attention of Indian women in the #MeToo wave to the circumstances faced by Kashmiri women, who have had cause for years to say “Me Too” in the face of an overwhelming threat & reality of sexual assault & violence by Indian forces. The widespread denial across India of the mass rapes in Kunan & Poshpora must be seen as one manifestation of the refusal to believe survivors. If the movement is to truly stand up for women, everywhere, then supporters of #MeToo must move beyond communitarian & nationalistic affiliations to fight against all perpetrators, including agents of the state & realize the truth of occupation in Kashmir.”