By: SHAFIYA WANI
Kashmir is not just a place on the map. It is a feeling, a wound, a memory, a heartbeat. For those of us who have grown up here, empowerment was never just about big words or government speeches. It was about survival- about finding a reason to believe in tomorrow. For the longest time, we were taught to adjust, to endure, to be grateful for the bare minimum. But something in the air has changed. There is restlessness in our youth, a new confidence in our women, and a quiet rebellion in our silence. It does not mean everything is fine. But it means we are no longer content with waiting.
Kashmir has always been a land of stories—of silence, of resistance, of waiting. But in recent years, I have seen new stories unfold. Not the kind that erase pain, but those that quietly promise a different kind of tomorrow. Amidst all the noise and debates about politics, one cannot ignore the subtle yet powerful change that has started to shape the lives of women and youth here. And much of it has come through government schemes launched during the Modi government.
For decades, young people in Kashmir lived with a certain stillness. Education without employment, skills without platforms, and dreams suspended in fear. Women, especially, were seen more as keepers of honor than holders of ambitions. But now, slowly, we are witnessing something shift. We see girls in villages starting their own tailoring units, not waiting for a government job. We see boys from remote areas getting trained in digital skills. We see women forming self-help groups, learning to stand for each other, and more importantly, for themselves.
Schemes like Start-Up India, Skill India, MUDRA Yojana, PMEGP, Mission Youth, and Tejaswini may sound like policy names printed on paper. But behind those names are real stories. Stories of courage, of small beginnings, of financial independence. I remember reading about a girl in Anantnag who used the Tejaswini scheme to open a beauty parlour. It was not just about the income. It was about reclaiming a space that once belonged to silence.
For the youth, Mission Youth has offered both skill and dignity. In a place where many once found themselves standing at the edge of hopelessness, these initiatives have offered a hand. Not to pull them into dependency, but to help them rise on their own feet. And this, I believe, is the heart of real empowerment. Not loud celebrations, but quiet revolutions.
Another initiative that has begun to touch the lives of Kashmiri women is the UMEED scheme under the Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission. UMEED is more than just a financial support system. It is a lifeline. It brings women together in self-help groups and gives them access to bank credit, training, and the courage to imagine themselves as entrepreneurs. Whether it is dairy farming in Kupwara or pickle-making in Pulwama, these women are no longer asking for charity. They are asking for opportunity and making the most of it. For many, stepping out of their homes to attend a group meeting is the first step toward stepping into their own identity. And for a society like ours, that first step is nothing short of revolutionary.
But let us not romanticize it. The road is still long. Unemployment is still a haunting reality. Gender bias still breathes in our homes. Many women are still denied choices, and many dreams are still labelled too big. But in the midst of all this, the fact that we are beginning to talk about self-reliance, about women leading rallies, about boys from Shopian becoming software developers, that fact matters.
I often think about my own journey as a Kashmiri girl. How difficult it was to even imagine stepping into spaces outside the set boundaries. And now, when I walk past a local entrepreneurship fair or see a group of girls attending a digital marketing session, I feel something in me healing. As if the valley, too, is learning to breathe differently.
These schemes are not perfect, nor are they the final solution to Kashmir’s complex problems. But they are windows. Windows that allow light to enter dark rooms that have stayed shut for too long.
What matters now is what we do with that light. Do we allow it to fade, or do we hold it, multiply it, and pass it on? To the young women reading this: your voice matters. Your ideas matter. You do not need permission to dream.
And to every youth in Kashmir who has felt invisible, uncertain, or unheard—I see you. This land needs your courage, your creativity, your fire. The schemes may have come from Delhi, but the transformation, that is ours to own. Ours to build.
Because empowerment is not something given. It is something we choose to claim.
And maybe, just maybe, Kashmir is beginning to choose.
The writer is a regular columnist and a M.A English student at Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi. Feedback at shafiyawani33@gmail.com
