Srinagar: The sudden closure of the Kashmir Press Club (KPC), the largest body of journalists in Kashmir with around 300 members, by the Jammu and Kashmir government with a coup-style takeover by a few journalists has had a particularly negative impact on women journalists.
Most feel like they have lost a second home.
The government locked up the club, announced its closure and the cancellation of its allotment of premises to it on January 17.
The club space – a haven for freelance journalists and photographers too – was also used by civil society groups, political parties, business establishments and associations for press conferences. More importantly, the club had been instrumental in lobbying for journalists’ safety and issued regular statements whenever local journalists were attacked, summoned or harassed by the government agencies or when the internet connections were shut down by authorities.
Even as the government justified the shutting down of the club, saying it was to ensure the “safety of bona fide journalists”, the government move leading up to the closure of the club has been widely criticised by journalists and several journalists’ bodies across the country who have called for an independent inquiry into the forced closure and sought the reopening of the club.
The club had about 12 women journalists who were registered members. Other working women journalists also had free access and would frequently visit the club. The club also had a separate women’s lounge for them.
Soon after the club was taken over by the few journalists, the previous elected management body officially nominated two women journalists in the 13-member committee which was mandated to organise the next elections to the new body and also assist in the management of the club.
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Mohsina Malik, a young journalist from Srinagar who currently works with a weekly newspaper and portal Free Press Kashmir, says the closing down of a free spirited space like KPC which was always buzzing with young and senior journalists from across the Valley is another attempt to muzzle the voices and rights of journalists. She says she and her colleagues feel “scattered” now with no common space to gather in.
The seminar ‘Cyber Curfew’ organised in January 2020 by the Kashmir Press Club on the continued internet shutdown in Kashmir which had affected the work of journalists. Photo: Majid Maqbool/File
“The club was like a safe second home for young reporters like me. I would go to KPC occasionally and meet my seniors and fellow young journalists. We would engage in good conversations and encourage and support each other. The place gave me a reason to keep going and focus on my work,” she says.
There were other benefits too.
“Sharing story ideas and listening to seniors was always helpful. With the club’s closure now, we have lost a good learning space where we would also get to meet other bright and enthusiastic journalists,” she adds.
Being a woman and a journalist in Kashmir has never been easy, says Mohsina.
“I always felt that at KPC I could freely share my fears and problems with colleagues and other journalists who could understand me well,” she says.
For Raziya Noor, a Kashmir correspondent for the Dainik Jagran newspaper, KPC executed the same roles.
“As a female journalist I would say that it was the one last space where we were comfortable and safe, and could meet our colleagues. But now this vibrant space has also been snatched from us,” she says.
Quratulain Rehbar, another young independent journalist, echoes Raziya’s disappointment. “I think we are all left to ourselves now after its closure,” she says.
“As a young journalist I’ve always been keen to learn from my senior journalists there and ask for suggestions or seek in person career advice,” says Rehbar. “I always felt it was a safe place for woman journalists like us.”
Arjumand Shaheen, another freelance journalist who writes for a local magazine says that since freelancers like her don’t have any particular office space to work from, the KPC was her go to haven for work and breaks too.
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“But with the closure of KPC, I feel as if my own workspace has been closed down,” she says.
“Moreover being a woman I would always prefer a safer space like KPC rather than any cafe or roadside place for work. This was also the case for when I had to meet my friends and fellow reporters,” she says, adding that in her profession socialising safely with people and colleagues, and developing human associations is very important.
“At KPC, besides working, it was the best place to get to know and meet our seniors and experienced colleagues. Interacting with them and exchanging ideas and views with them was a learning experience,” says Arjumand. “Being a young journalist and new to this field, I would get acquainted with their way of dealing with the different situations and their way of work. I used to learn a lot from them there.”
The locked Srinagar office of the Kashmir Press Club on January 16, 2022. Photo: Mehran Bhat
Farzana Nisar, a freelance journalist working for the last four years in Kashmir, sees the forcible takeover and subsequent closure of the club as yet another attempt by the government to repress freedom of expression and silence independent journalists in Kashmir.
“Over the years we have seen a young breed of independent women journalists coming up in Kashmir who try their best to bring out important and factual stories. The club was like a second home for them,” she says. “It is very clear that the authorities are trying to control the narrative and further repress journalists by closing down their work and meeting spaces.”
Farzana believes the club provided a sense of security, especially to women journalists in the face of increased harassment and summons to journalists by authorities after the Union government on August 5, 2019 read down Article 370. The club had remained open for journalists during the subsequent six month-long shutdown and communication blockade. Beyond physical safety and professional assistance, she says, the members found support and encouragement in each other’s presence at the club in difficult times.
“Also, at a time these when pictures of Muslim women journalists are auctioned virtually on apps like Bulli Bai and Sulli Deals, any professional support coming from independent press bodies like KPC was indispensable for us,” she says. “But now it feels like that last support is also gone.”
