Liza Gupta
The Indian subcontinent, being located in the midst of ‘Golden Crescent’ and ‘Golden Triangle, the two major opium production zones, has made India vulnerable to the menace of drug trafficking and abuse. The region of Jammu Kashmir is not an exception to this phenomenon. According to the Standing Committee report of 2023 on Social Justice and Empowerment, over 9 lakh people of Jammu-Kashmir are drug addicts. The issue is increasing every day and is one of the grave threats. In the year 2023, the state authorities have busted around 29,306 kg of drugs and destroyed around 74,179 pharmaceuticals, with 4,365 kg of drugs and 26,772 pharmaceuticals destroyed in the first half of 2024 which reveals the amount of drug peddled into Kashmir.
The drugs are mainly smuggled by Pakistan which has been using the dual strategy of sending weapons and drugs to keep the conflict alive to tear the social fabric of the society. There has been tremendous increase in this terror financing specially post the constitutional reforms in Jammu-Kashmir that has undermined Pakistan’s chance to claim the region.
Over the past years, rising and increasing surge has been noticed in the rise of women consuming drugs in the region. Apart from that, the number of women involved in drug trafficking and peddling has also increased. Women are being preferred to peddle and traffic drugs by the organizations.
Rising Drug Abuse by Women
Historically, the cases of drug abuse in the region were considered as the males’ domain, but statistics collected in the current years and the reports received from the de-addiction centres show that there is a sharp increase in the number of female drug addicts. This change has sparked much concern as the women in the region face multiple vulnerabilities.
The foremost reason for women’s increased consumption of drugs is conflict in Kashmir that has increased stress levels amongst women due to the double brunt on women. To overcome this stress caused both by the ongoing conflict as well as increased care-giving responsibilities, women have got engaged in consumption of different drugs to ease tension. Domestic abuse by enraged local youth, death of husbands in the conflict, missing family members during the conflict has further aggravated the situation of women, increasing their consumption of drugs.
Further, the rising substance abuse has been noticed because women’s husband/ spouse/ family member is a drug addict or a peddler leading women to abuse drugs out of curiosity, eventually getting addicted towards them. The impact of mass media has also led women to try these drugs. Furthermore, lack of good healthcare system which has led to loss of babies, pregnancy-related issues has also led women to consume drugs.
Lack of awareness and recognition of mental health issues like depression, anxiety, guilt, trauma is also one of the reasons for rising drug abuse. Further, families belonging to both upper, middle and lower class do not pay much attention to their girls even from an early-age just because they are girls. This neglected parenting, lack of supervisors amongst women have increased mental health issues wherein it is difficult for girls and women to cope with difficult emotion, rising drug abuse amongst them.
Additionally, the unemployment scenario in the valley, lack of industrial structure, lack of private enterprises for employment has also caused frustration amongst them. In a lower- and middle-class household, women face the double brunt of this unemployment status since the unemployed family members or spouse led their frustration on the women. Lack of any avenue for entertainment, easy availability vent drugs because of overflow of it from Pakistan and production in the state itself is also a major factor. Lastly, the COVID lockdown and the shutdown of internet has also lured many women to indulge in drug abuse.
Rising Drug Trafficking by women
Incidents where in women are preferred by drug lords to traffic drugs is also on the rise. In May 2024, a women peddler was arrested with Rs 15,670 cash and narcotics in Kathua district of Jammu. In early June 2023, three women were arrested with 7 kilo grams of narcotics.Similarly, various women have been arrested by the police for trafficking drugs reflecting women are being preferred to peddle drugs.
The foremost reason for rising drug trafficking by women in Kashmir is that they manage to stay below the radar of police and thus manage to easily transport drugs across the state. Women manage to escape frisking in various places primarily due to the assumption of their innocence and non-availability of female frisking staff. Even in various nakas, cars with the presence of women are let off without checking due to the assumption of innocence by women and the non-presence of female cops. Lastly, absence of female staff in the border areas have also let women to go unchecked with their belongings and peddle drugs.
Legal Possibilities and Frameworks: The Current State of Affairs
India has NDPS of 1985, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, which regard strong legal measures to prevent drug abuse and trafficking. The India NDPS Act makes the manufacture, use, sale, transport and demand for narcotics illegal. Even though the laws are in practice, drug trafficking abuse is on rise in the UT, reasons being at once evident that the region enjoys porous borders which are not heavily policed coupled with the fact that the enforcement agencies are itself not strong enough.
The problem is even more acute owing to the nature of UT’s politics and society. The war-torn context also hampers police and law enforcement work which also lack the adequate resources and the capacity needed fight the insurgencies and terrorism activities.
Nonetheless, we have laws in place, but what is required most of the time is a very active community participation and sensitization among people about the harms of using drugs.Community reinforcement facilities and mental health care providers are also still scarce forgiving sufficient treatment for drug dependents, especially females.
Tackling the Crisis: A Multi-Pronged Approach
The problem of drug abuse and trafficking by women in the region requires a multi-faceted strategy. The problem of addiction can be solved by increasing opportunities for women, increasing availability of mental health services and decreasing the negative attitude towards people that seek help. Second, law enforcement agencies have to employ adequate number of women policeofficers for the check-points and border areas as women involved in drug trafficking cannot be effectively searched by male officers. Third, community leaders, educators, and healthcare professionals must embark on awareness campaigns that will reach women. It means women can be helped not to fall into the trap of substance abuse if those root causes are addressed adequately, and the support done for treatment is provided. Lastly, the Government is required to set up centres for rehabilitation and counselling to go for treatment to be cured. Emphasis on reformative rather than retributive measures will assist the women to be reabsorbed into society and educated and employed. The region of Jammu Kashmir needs to come out of this silent epidemic creating a healthier and safer future for everyone.
(The author is from Department of International Relations, O.P. Jindal Global University.)
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