SRINAGAR: Chairperson of Dukhtarn-e-Milliat Aasiya Andrabi has accused the government of
setting up a system for sexual exploitation of Kashmiri girls, adding the state guest Meenakshi Sharan, recently invited by the Education department for ‘counseling schoolgirls,’ actually wanted to sell them. “Meenakshi had not come here for counseling schoolgirls, but was on an Indian agenda to market Kashmiri girls outside by offering them lucrative jobs,” Asiya said in a press conference here.

Meenakhi of Indore who runs spas and beauty saloons in hotels outside had visited some prominent girls’ higher secondary institutions here for ‘counseling’ of students, which triggered resentment from social circles. Aasiya Andrabi said the woman talked to the schoolgirls “just to lure them by lucrative offers.” “We talked to many students who had met Meenakshi in isolation. They narrated horrific tales about what she spoke to them,” Aasiya said. “Meenakshi told schoolgirls that the only way to come out of stress is to accept that there are better opportunities in India.

She told them Husun ki keemat sirf aap ko hindustan me mil sakti hai and that they cannot live or move freely under the religious extremism. She told them that it is abnormal if they don’t have a boyfriend at this age.” Aasiya said the lady “was actually doing the job of luring girls into modeling and later exploit them sexually. “When I called her at the hotel, a receptionist told me that she was busy giving beauty tips to a client. This makes it clear that she was not a counselor,” Aasiya said. “For the past many days, we were busy collecting information about Meenakhi’s credentials. We were stunned to observe that she was a beautician in a hotel in Mumbai,”

Asiya said, adding, “When I talked to her (Meenakshi) by phone, she told me that we Kashmiris are unlucky and unnecessarily accuse India of misdeeds. But I told her that all doors in Kashmir are closed for her forthwith.” The issue ran into controversy past week when many students accused the woman of “luring them by promising careers” without disclosing the nature of her profession saying she would tell it in solitude during future meets.

The DeM chief came down heavily on authorities of the Education department, saying “they must apologize to nation for inviting such lady.” Aasiya lashed out at the Tourism department and offices of various airlines saying they were “exploiting our daughters.” “The tourism department has been created for this purpose,” Aasiya said. “But if we won’t wake up to this menace, the day won’t be far off when our daughters would be marketed like tulips in the outside world,” she warned.

She said the tourism department’s much hyped initiative to promote “home tourism” by way of making people offer homes on rentals was aimed at promoting the menace. Its secretary had gone to the extent of showering praise on Meenakshi Sharan saying “she is a lovely hearted woman who wants to help Kashmiris. She is basically from tourism sector and aspires to do good for Kashmiris. So don’t take her moves otherwise.”

Aasiya alleged that “police and politicians are patronizing sexual exploitation of girls in the Valley.”
“This system of marketing Kashmiri girls sometimes surfaces by means of education tours, sometimes through Army’s Operation Sadbhawna, and sometimes through appointment of Kashmiri girls in different airlines and insurance companies etc,” Aasiya said. “These offices exploit Kashmiri girls on different names.

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