Behold, I Shine: Narratives of Kashmir’s Women and Children by Freny Manecksha is a book about Kashmir, conflict, women, children, militarisation, and lived experience. Through interviews and personal narratives, the book looks at how the ongoing conflict has affected Kashmiri women and children, especially mothers, wives, families of the disappeared, and those growing up amid violence. This review looks at how the book captures pain, resistance, courage, and hope in a region often discussed only through politics and security.
Book: Behold, I Shine: Narratives of Kashmir’s Women and Children
Author: Freny Manecksha
Form: Reportage / political non-fiction
Subject: The impact of conflict in Kashmir on women and children
Main themes: Kashmir, women, children, militarisation, enforced disappearances, mothers, half-widows, public space, patriarchy, resistance, courage, and hope
Best for: Readers interested in Kashmir, women’s lives, children in conflict zones, human rights, militarization, reportage, and lived experiences from the valley
Why I Picked - Behold, I Shine
Behold, I Shine: Narratives of Kashmir’s Women and Children is a book that presents a narrative from the perspective of Kashmiri women and children.
I have read a few books about Kashmir, and most of them are about the conflict, its genesis, and the reasons behind it. The books I read are about the history of Kashmir, the various rulers who ruled Kashmir over time, and the syncretic culture of Kashmir.
This book, as the name suggests, looks at Kashmir from the perspective of Kashmiri women and children — their struggles, challenges, pain, and hope during the ongoing conflict.
Kashmir is one place I want to understand and know more about, so any book on Kashmir interests me. That is why I decided to read this one.
About - Behold, I Shine
Behold, I Shine is about knowing and understanding the impact of the ongoing conflict in Kashmir on women and children.
The author talks about the various ways women and children have been affected in Kashmir and how they cope with it. The book includes stories of mothers of disappeared children, wives of disappeared husbands, and children of disappeared or killed fathers.
Behold, I shine also talks about the changing landscape of Kashmir and how the militarisation of the valley is shrinking the public space for the people of Kashmir, especially women.
The book provides insight into how women are coming forward not only to fight military oppression, but also the patriarchy that is deep-rooted in some sections of Kashmiri Muslim society. The author interviews many women to provide us with their views and perspectives.
Militarization, Public Space, and Everyday Fear
The book talks about the perspective of Kashmiri women who view the military presence as occupation. This has not only shrunk their shared spaces, but also taken control over their lives in many ways.
Through interviews, the author shows how frequent curfews, cordon and search operations, and the constant presence of armed forces have changed the lives of women and children in Kashmir.
For many women, public space is no longer free or safe. Movement, education, work, protest, and even ordinary social life are affected by the atmosphere of fear and surveillance.
Mothers, Wives, Disappearances, and the Search for Justice
The book includes stories of women who have lost their husbands, sons, and fathers to the conflict — some dead, others disappeared. Reading their stories makes you understand how they have to fight multiple battles, not only for justice but also with their own family members and society.
Often, the wives of the disappeared are not treated well by their in-laws and are held responsible for the disappearance of their husbands. One comes across many such heartbreaking stories in the book.
The author interviews brave and courageous women who, despite all odds, stood up for truth and justice. One among them is Parveena Ahangar, whose son was picked up by security forces and never came back. She visited every jail in Jammu and Kashmir and in other parts of India in search of her son, but to no avail. In the process, she realised that there were many others like her, and thus came into existence the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, or APDP.
The book is a searing account of the women of Kashmir after the 1990s. There are poignant stories of loss, pain, and disappearance, but amidst all this, there are also stories of resistance, dissent, courage, and hope.
This is what makes the book important. It does not only document suffering. It also shows how Kashmiri women continue to speak, organize, raise their voices, and hold on to dignity even in extremely difficult circumstances.
Who Should Read Behold, I Shine
Anyone who is interested in knowing about Kashmir should read this book. It is especially useful for readers who want to understand the views and perspectives of Kashmiri women and children on violence and conflict.
This book will surely engage someone who genuinely wants to know and understand how Kashmir has changed for women since the 1990s, when the armed struggle started in Kashmir.
It talks about how the condition of women changed because of Kashmir’s freedom struggle, heavy militarisation, frequent curfews, cordon and search operations, enforced disappearances of men and children, and the fightback and legal battles of Kashmiri mothers and wives.
So, if you are interested in knowing more about these aspects of Kashmir, this book is for you.
Our Verdict
Behold, I Shine: Narratives of Kashmir’s Women and Children is a book that captures the pain, sorrow, anger, frustration, and courage of the women of Kashmir.
It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how violence and militarisation impact the lives of women and children in Kashmir.
The book is painful and deeply moving, but it is also full of resistance and hope. It reminds us that behind every political conflict are ordinary people whose lives, families, memories, and futures are changed forever.
About the Author
Freny Manecksha is an independent journalist from Mumbai. She left mainstream journalism after more than twenty years to pursue her areas of interest, which include development, gender, and human rights.
For the past eleven years, she has travelled and written extensively from Kashmir and Chhattisgarh. Her work has been published in Himal South Asian, The Wire, Raiot, and PARI. She is the author of Behold, I Shine: Narratives of Kashmir’s Women and Children.
Related Readings
If Behold, I Shine interests you, these related reviews may help you explore Kashmir through memory, conflict, women’s lives, and lived experience.
About the reviewer
Manoj Payal
Manoj is an avid reader and a writer in progress, with interests spanning literature, history, politics, and the social sciences. His writing across book reviews, essays, articles, and poetry—explores ideas, society, and the human experience.He has spent over two decades working in the IT industry, a background that informs his analytical approach to reading and writing.