Nearly ten thousand women have gone missing from Jammu Kashmir since 2019, Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra told Rajya Sabha.
The Indian government has revealed that nearly 10,000 women have gone missing from Jammu Kashmir since 2019.
The figures, which were released by Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra in response to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, show that there has been a significant increase in the number of missing women in the region in recent years.
In 2019, 355 women under the age of 18 have gone missing and 2738 women above the age of 18 are missing. In the following year, 350 and 2701 women have gone missing in the categories below and above 18 respectively. 3178 women have gone missing from Jammu Kashmir in the year 2021 who were a8 year old or above, while 443 women below 18 years old had gone missing.
The figures show that Jammu Kashmir is second on the UT list for missing women. Delhi tops the list, with 22, 919 girls below 18 years of age and 61, 050 below the age of 18 having gone missing between 2019 and 2021.
In Maharashtra, 56,498 cases of missing women who are above 18 of age were reported in 2021.
The government has said that various measures have been adopted for women related issues in Jammu Kashmir, which included assistance to investigating staff in arrests, searches and interrogation of women offenders and suspects.
In April 2016, four women Police Stations, one each in the Districts of Anantnag, Baramulla, Rajouri and Udhampur were also created, and 208 posts were sanctioned (52 for each Women Police Station-1 Inspr, 1 SI, 2 ASI,6 HCs, 34 Cts and 8 Followers).
The strength of women police in the state has increased manifold and some of women officers of the state have been directly recruited to the DySP rank through State civil services examination.
Police has also created helpline number for women in most district of Jammu Kashmir.
The government has said that it is committed to the safety and security of women in Jammu Kashmir and that all necessary measures are being taken to address the issue of missing women.
However, the figures released by the government have raised serious concerns about the safety of women in the region.
The high number of missing women suggests that there is a serious problem with human trafficking and forced marriage in Jammu Kashmir.
The government must take urgent action to address this issue and ensure the safety of all women in the region.
(This article originally appeared on Kashmiriyat.co.uk.)