Actor/director Aamir Bashir, who hails from Kashmir, shared on Wednesday that his mother and aunt has been arrested after participating in a women’s march in the locked down state. Aamir also went on to speak about Kashmiri children and young men allegedly being picked up and detained by armed forces.
“After the initial shock, some perspective... while my mother and aunts ( all in their 70s and 80s) are in jail for a peaceful protest. There are hundreds if not thousands of children some as young as 9, who are picked up in midnight raids and taken to unknown locations,” Aamir wrote on Twitter.
“They’re thrashed, tortured and their families run from pillar to post to find their whereabouts. My mother at least has her sisters with her in central jail. They took a stand and chose to speak out against this oppression. While they’re old and need medicines for arthritis, asthma and cardiac ailments, they’re still better off than those mothers who have not seen their young ones since this lockdown began. This is the new normal in Kashmir”, he added.
On Tuesday, Aamir had shared a video from the protest where his mother, Hawa Bashir Khan, spoke to the BBC about their issues with the government. He tweeted, ‘“Ask us why we are unhappy!” says my mother. “Is this democracy?” asks my aunt. Proud of these women standing up to the might of a police state.’
Many others shared the video of Aamir’s mom on Twitter as well.
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