“Our voices have been silenced”: Zaira Wasim

Srinagar

National-award winner Zaira Wasim, who was last seen in the critically acclaimed movie “The Sky Is Pink”, posted a long note on Instagram on Monday and said that Kashmir continues to suffer and see-saw between hope and frustration, reported NDTV.

Zaira-Wasim file image

According to report published by NDTV, in her post, Zaira Wasim wrote “Kashmir continues to suffer and see-saw between hope and frustration। There’s a false and uneasy semblance of calmness in place of escalating despair and sorrow। Kashmiris continue to exist and suffer in a world where it is so easy to place restrictions on our liberty. Why do we have to live in world where our lives and wills are controlled, dictated and bent? Why is it so easy to have our voices silenced? Why is it so easy to curtail our freedom of expression? Why aren’t we ever allowed to voice our opinions, let alone our disprovals to decisions that are made contrary to our wishes? Why is it that instead of trying to see the cause of our view, our view is just condemned ruthfully? What is so easy to curb our voices so severely? Why can we not live simple lives without always having to wrestle and remind the world of our existence. Why is that life of a Kashmiri is just about experiencing a lifetime of crisis, blockade and disturbance so abundantly that it has taken away the recognition of normalcy and harmony from the hearts and minds?”The 19-year-old – born in Jammu and Kashmir- further wrote: “Kashmiris continue to exist and suffer in a world where it is so easy to place restrictions on our liberty”.

The 19-year-old Srinagar-born actor also criticised authorities and added, “Hundreds of questions like these-unanswered; leaving us bewildered and frustrated, but our frustrations find no outlet. The authority doesn’t make the slightest effort to put a stop to our doubts and speculations but Stubbornly tend to go their own way to confine our existence mired in a confused, conflicted and a paralysed world.”

“But I ask the world, what has altered your acceptance of the misery and oppression we’re being subjected to? Do not believe the unfair representation of the facts and details or the rosy hue that the media has cast on the reality of the situation. Ask questions, re-examine the biased assumptions. Ask questions. For our voices have been silenced- and for how long….none of us really know!,” she added.

After centre’s big announcement on Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, she had tweeted: “This too shall pass! #Kashmir (sic).”

Mobile internet services, cellular network, landline and broadband connectivity resumed in the Valley on January 25. The services were suspended on August 5 after Kashmir was stripped of its special status under Article 370 of the Constitution.

The decision to relax the restrictions came after the Supreme Court, in response to a petition, on January 10 ordered an immediate review. “Suspension of free movement, Internet and basic freedoms cannot be an arbitrary exercise of power,” the court had said then, adding that Internet connectivity is integral to an individual’s right to freedom of speech and expression.

Several political leaders, including former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, are under detention since August 5 decision and Army is on high alert in the border areas.

Earlier, on July 2019, Zaira bid goodbye to her acting career, saying it interfered with her faith and religion, reported NDTV.

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