Spreading Like Wildfire: How Abusive Language, Street Harassment, and Objectification Are Degrading Kashmir’s Culture
By Shahid Parvaiz Yatoo
It was a routine Monday morning on campus when I stepped onto the college grounds, only to be met by a group of three young men casually hurling explicit slurs at one another and laughing off the profanity as standard banter. Moments later, one of them stepped forward and attempted to forcibly hand an object to an unknown female student who was repeatedly and visibly refusing.
Later that same day, aboard an overcrowded smart bus, the atmosphere shifted from uncomfortable to heartbreaking. A female passenger broke down in tears, crying out that a male commuter had been harassing her. Just a few meters away, oblivious or indifferent, two young boys continued to exchange loud, abusive language while onlookers, including children and elders, sat in silence.
These everyday encounters point to a troubling societal shift: the normalization of friendly abusive culture and the growing insecurity of women in public spaces. Harassment and casual profanity are entirely foreign to our Tehzeeb, our values, and the essence of Kashmiriyat. Our cultural heritage is deeply rooted in mutual respect, dignity, and moral restraint that once served as a guiding light for humanity.
Having worked closely with thousands of students through student welfare and youth initiatives, I frequently receive complaints from female students facing persistent boundary violations. In one instance, a female student reported that a male peer continually stalked and pressured her into a relationship despite her clear refusal, ultimately escalating to sexual harassment. In another case, male students created a private messaging group to share unauthorized photographs of their female batchmates to generate derogatory memes; we immediately escalated the matter to college authorities to ensure intervention. On numerous occasions, young women have reported having their phone numbers harvested to receive unsolicited and inappropriate messages.
While there is a formal legal architecture to address these violations, and as a student of Public Administration and Cyber Security, I consistently advocate for reporting such incidents to the Cyber Police and relevant administrative bodies, a deeply concerning pattern persists: most victims are terrified to pursue legal recourse or even make the incident public.
The root cause lies in societal hypocrisy. The same society that casually adopts westernized slurs and trivializes street harassment turns around to judge, scrutinize, and socially isolate the victim. Fearing social stigma and public humiliation, young women feel compelled to remain silent. This public silence and victim-blaming grant offenders total immunity, reinforcing their belief that their predatory behavior is acceptable.
We must reflect on our cultural roots. In earlier times, whether traveling in buses, walking through neighborhoods, or gathering at home, Kashmiris relied on gentle discourse and the wisdom of our elders (pranan hinz kathi) to express emotion or even anger. When a child made a mistake, elders invoked blessings and mercy rather than resorting to profanity. Today, we witness a rapid erosion of this etiquette. While slang existed in small pockets historically, its daily, unchecked usage and the creation of explicit new vocabulary mark a drastic departure.
This shift is heavily fueled by unmonitored social media access. Slang spreads like wildfire (yikun reh tukun tekir) through peer groups, rapidly objectifying women in everyday language. It is a stark irony that a society which once did not tolerate a child uttering a single disrespectful word in front of an elder is now casually adopting explicit profanity in everyday life.
Some may dismiss traditional norms as conservative, but preserving moral boundaries and basic public decency is not conservative; it is essential human etiquette. Modernization does not mean adopting abusive language or tolerating public harassment on our streets. The proliferation of short-form 10-second reels and local digital comedy shows, where crude jokes and gutter language are normalized for cheap laughs, has contributed to a form of brain rot that desensitizes the public.
While street harassment remains rampant offline, digital platforms have magnified the issue exponentially. Women who attempt to post educational or meaningful content online are frequently subjected to relentless trolling, gender-based character assassination, moral policing, and explicit threats. Consequently, many female voices are forced to deactivate their accounts, self-censor, and retreat entirely from public discourse, effectively depriving them of their fundamental Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
In recent years, our region has witnessed a disturbing surge in gender-based crimes, exploitation rackets, and cases of abuse perpetrated by fake faith healers. Yet, public reaction often defaults to moral policing rather than systemic accountability. When tragic incidents occur, such as the recent high-profile violence against women reported across the country, the immediate societal reaction is to question why the victim was out past dusk, rather than confronting the predatory mindsets that render public spaces unsafe.
When elders attempt to correct youth using abusive language or playing vulgar media in public, the response is often devoid of shame, met with dismissive remarks like “cze chya mani Kabri wasun” (Do you have to enter my grave?).
The scale of gendered abuse in Jammu & Kashmir is clearly reflected in official statistics. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data submitted to Parliament reveals that registered crimes against women in the Union Territory stood at 3,405 in 2020, peaked at 3,937 in 2021, and remained consistently high with 3,716 in 2022, 3,653 in 2023, and 3,366 in 2024. Crucially, offences under IPC Section 354 (BNS Section 74), which explicitly cover outraging a woman’s modesty through street harassment, verbal abuse, and catcalling, form the largest single share of these offences, representing nearly half of all reported cases. Parallelly, Lok Sabha data confirms a steady rise in cybercrimes, proving that harassment has migrated heavily into digital spaces. Yet, as the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) highlights, formal statistics capture only a fraction of the reality, while everyday street catcalling and comment-section abuse remain buried under social stigma and enforced silence.
Victims of street harassment and digital abuse are not without legal defense; our legal framework offers explicit protections. The Constitution of India guarantees the Right to Live with Dignity under Article 21. Under penal law, IPC Section 509 (BNS Section 79) specifically criminalizes words, gestures, or abusive language intended to insult a woman’s modesty, while IPC Section 354D (BNS Section 78) protects against both physical and cyber-stalking. Furthermore, the Information Technology Act (Sections 66E and 67) provides strict penalties for publishing obscene content and violating privacy. Citizens can report digital abuse through the official National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in), dial the 181 Women Helpline, or contact local Cyber Police units. The law exists; what is urgently required is dismantling the social stigma that prevents victims from utilizing these legal remedies.
Remaining silent in the face of normalized abuse is equivalent to consent. It is the collective responsibility of families, educators, community leaders, and content creators to actively challenge and call out abusive language in real time. We must stop asking women to adapt to harassment and instead reclaim respect in both physical and digital spaces.
Before we preach “Protect Your Daughter,” we must first commit to educating our sons.
