Srinagar, May 23 -- By Tajamul Islam Salroo

A young woman boards an auto in Srinagar after college. A group of men standing near a roadside tea stall pass obscene comments as she walks by. A mother traveling with her daughter lowers her eyes during a crowded bus ride because the driver and his friends laugh loudly at women on the road. A working woman chooses longer routes and earlier hours simply to avoid harassment near busy market areas.

These scenes have become familiar in parts of Kashmir, and that familiarity itself signals a deeper social failure.

Recent incidents involving autodrivers making obscene remarks toward women sparked public anger. Public anger alone, however, cannot solve a problem that has settled into daily life. ...