Garrisoned Minds: Women and Armed Conflict in South Asia

by Laxmi Murthy, Mitu Varma

'Women are often the worst affected by militarisation but their stories rarely get heard. Garrisoned Minds , which brings together insights and analysis from some of the major conflict zones of South Asia, is a welcome and valuable corrective, one which must be read by both policy-makers and the public.' -- Siddharth Varadarajan, Founding Editor of thewire.in Militarisation and violence as a response to conflict are now part of the global social order. In this book, twelve journalists explore the impact of such militarisation on the lives of women in four conflict-affected zones of South Pakistan's frontier provinces which share a border with Afghanistan; Nepal during and after its decade-long civil war; Northeast India under the shadow of AFSPA; and the Kashmir valley amidst the overwhelming presence of the Indian army. These essays range from evocative accounts of women's personal lives during combat in Nepal and while travelling through the changing political landscape of Manipur, to detailed explorations of the violent restrictions imposed on specific communities, such as the Hazaras of Pakistan, the dancing girls of Swat Valley, or the ostracised widows of counter-insurgents in Kashmir. They represent the lived realities of a diverse set of women forced to come to terms with horrific circumstances, and determined to wage peace.

302 pages, Paperback

Published August 8, 2016

About the author

Laxmi Murthy is associate editor, Himal Southasian. Her writings, with a focus on giving voice to issues marginalised by mainstream media, have appeared in major dailies including The Times of India, The Hindustan Times, The Hindu and the Indian Express. Laxmi was an editor at the Women's Feature Service, an international news-feature agency specialising in development issues from a gender perspective and was also South Asia coordinator for the Tolerance Prize, an award for excellence in journalism instituted by the International Federation of Journalists.

(from http://infochangeindia.org/about-us.html)

Reviews

[Vibhor Jain · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book provides a gripping account of hardships of life during armed conflict in general and specific issues faced by women. The book also delved into a brief history of the south Asian conflicts under consideration.
Two lines which stood out for me were:
Fear, if at all, must be gathered through personal experiences and not inherited.
Death is certain; but some deaths are more certain.