Sexual Violence As A Crime Against Humanity As Seen In The Indian Partition Of 1947

Abstract

This research project looks into the nature of violence of the Indian Partition of 1947. The goal in this work is to place sexual violence towards women in this particular moment in history into a global context through applying international law to the violent acts committed by citizens of both India and Pakistan, as well as comparing it to other ethnic conflicts of history. This history has only recently become relevant, alongside the feminist movement of the 1990’s with oral historians such as Kamla Patel and Urvashi Butalia. Upon analyzing memoirs, newspapers, official government documentation from social workers, as well as oral histories, it is clear a crime against humanity occurred in the South Asian subcontinent in 1947; however, there has been little action taken by these states’ governments to memorialize these women, aid them, or punish their attackers. This research is an attempt to remember these women and uncover the true extent of the violence they faced.