Shadows of Azadi

In Shadows of Azadi azadi or 'freedom' represents a woman's right to choose and to live by the choices she makes. So what happens when your choices are taken away from you? When your childhood education work life and selfdetermined future are controlled by the fact of your gender and where you reside? In the conflicttorn and highly militarised region of Kashmir 'azadi' can mean different things to different people. For one woman it could mean expressing her innermost thoughts without the fear of punishment. For another it could mean studying her preferred subjects or going out with friends without being harassed. It could also mean being able to wear makeup or certain clothes even to read whatever she likes. The myriad interpretations of the word and idea are explored in Shadows of Azadi in the form of an anthology of essays by women from the three main regions of Indianadministered Kashmir—Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh—consistently focusing our attention on what azadi might mean in a place where even the most basic rights remain tightly controlled.