The Kashmir Women's Organisation (KWO) has announced a significant escalation of its campaign against drug addiction in Jammu & Kashmir, placing women at the centre of awareness, prevention, and rehabilitation efforts under the Nasha Mukt Bharat campaign. The move follows a direct prompt from the Lieutenant Governor during a Gender Equity Fellowship event, where KWO was asked to account for its contributions to the national anti-drug initiative.

What KWO Is Pledging

KWO Chairperson Darakhshan Hassan Bhat, a PhD scholar, said the organisation will expand awareness programmes, strengthen family support systems, and facilitate counselling and rehabilitation through domain experts. Critically, she said KWO will work to encourage women battling substance abuse to seek treatment without fear of social stigma — a persistent barrier in conservative communities.

'The Lieutenant Governor, during the Gender Equity Fellowship event, asked us what we were doing under the Nasha Mukt Bharat campaign. We have already organised awareness drives and community outreach programmes, but now the time has come to accelerate our efforts,' Bhat said.

Why Women Are Central to This Fight

Bhat argued that women are disproportionately affected by drug addiction — either as direct victims or as mothers, daughters, wives, and sisters of those battling substance dependence. Empowering women, she said, is not peripheral to the anti-drug mission but foundational to it: stronger women build stronger families, and stronger families are more capable of resisting the pull of addiction.

She added that women have the potential to become powerful agents of social change and must play a leading role in the fight against addiction. This framing positions the KWO's campaign not merely as welfare outreach but as a structural intervention in community resilience.

Scale of Reach So Far

The KWO has already demonstrated considerable reach. According to Bhat, the organisation has directly engaged more than 20,000 women and reached over 8 million people through digital platforms. Thousands of women participated in the government's 100-day Nasha Mukt Abhiyan initiative, and KWO is now preparing a comprehensive action plan to deepen its contribution in the coming months.

The organisation's Darakshan Sitaray podcast and social media channels have been deployed to amplify positive narratives, counter misinformation, and encourage women to step into leadership roles — a dual-track approach combining offline grassroots outreach with digital amplification.

Leadership Pipeline and Broader Agenda

Beyond the anti-drug campaign, KWO promotes women's leadership through the Gender Equity Fellowship, which trains participants in leadership, communication, constitutional awareness, public policy, digital literacy, and community engagement. Bhat acknowledged that challenges such as domestic violence, limited economic opportunities, and entrenched social barriers remain significant, particularly in rural and remote areas of Kashmir.

Looking ahead, the KWO aims to expand its grassroots presence, promote women's entrepreneurship, enhance digital literacy, and increase women's participation in decision-making over the next five years — with the fight against drug addiction listed as a central priority throughout.