J&K school girls face online flak for Army-sponsored tour

Thirty girl students from various city schools, currently on an army-sponsored National Integration Tour, are facing online flak for taking part in the programme.

"See our gals (sic) on army tour... Salute to their parents. Boys of kashmir giving blood and gals (sic) selling blood," a Facebook user wrote in one of his post. He also posted a group picture of the girls currently on the tour along with another picture of a boy's funeral. Another user commented in Kashmiri: "Baya yeli yeman ti gharrr manz mar na kanhh teli tari yeman ti fikri (When one of their own will die, they will understand)." 

"There is now no differentiation in Kashmir. Forgive me but we are all same... the leaders, the people, young, old, men, women... the pain is only felt by those whose loved ones have been martyred," wrote another user. However, there were some who came out in support of the girls and termed the rants against them as "gender war".

"So this is a gender war now? If this is a reality, then ask yourself why this has happened? You can't victimize half of the population, curb on their individual freedoms and then expect their support for the formation of an 'independent' Islamic state," wrote a female Facebook user. The user who had posted the original post shot back saying while she can support this but majority of Kashmiri people can not tolerate this. "If this was not tour from Army, situation might not be same but its same army who killed innocent boys deliberately here. You know this well. Its not matter of individual freedom but matter of our culture too (sic)," he added.