ISLAMABAD: Atrocities on women in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK) need immediate attention of the authorities concerned as they are still treated as a second class citizen due to their vulnerability in areas such as education, customs, traditions, and poverty. Talking to APP, Human Rights Activist Noreen Raza on Friday said it was important for the empowerment of women that they should actively participate in the political process of the nation. The Kashmir conflict has affected tens of thousands of Kashmiri people for almost 74 years, making their existence subservient to military decisions taken by the Indian state, she said. They know no other lifestyle except for the one that has been constructed by the decades-old conflict, she added. She further said, the conversations on Kashmir have always been dominated by India on Pakistan’s political perspective, with little or no thought spared for rampant human rights abuses and the suffocating military presence in Indian Occupied Kashmir, which has one of the largest troop deployments in the world intricately spread across the disputed region. The voices of women got lost amidst this blatant black-and-white narrative as they were reduced to mere emotional victims, whilst they had made a significant contribution to the Kashmiri resistance against Indian state terrorism. People belonging to different strata of society would express solidarity with their oppressed Kashmiri brethren on ‘Kashmir Solidarity Day’ which is to be marked on tomorrow (February 5) every year. In the federal capital one minute silence will be observed at 10.00 am to pay homage to the martyrs of the liberation struggle of occupied Kashmir. Rallies, public meetings, and seminars will also be held across the country including Azad Kashmir to draw the attention of the world community towards grave human rights violations and brutalities against innocent Kashmiris by the Indian security forces. She lauded Kashmiri youth’s struggle for freedom in Kashmir. She reiterated that Pakistan will continue its support for the Kashmiris.