Behold

Set in the once-fabled land of Kashmir, Behold, I Shine moves beyond male voices and focuses, instead, on what the struggle means for the Valleys women and children-those whose husbands remain untraceable; whose mothers are half-widows; those who have confronted the wrath of Ikhwanis, or the scrutiny of men in uniform, and what it means to stand up to it all. This book also brings to focus the resilience of the Valleys women and children-of activists like Parveena Ahangar and Anjum Zamrud Habib, who, after debilitating losses, start human rights organizations; of ordinary homemakers like Munawara who have taken on the judiciary; and of a young generation of thinkers like Uzma Falak and Essar Batool who foreground the interaction of gender, politics and religion, and wont let Kashmir forget. Stitching together their narratives, Behold, I Shine not only memorializes womens voices-thus far forgotten, unwritten, suppressed or sidelined-but also celebrates the mighty spirit of the Valley.