In Srinagar's Zakoorah Khwaja Bagh area, a crowd of 50 has gathered in a makeshift tent. Women and children listen to Asiya Andrabi. The audience, made up of women and children, sits cross-legged on carpets. A small woman, fully veiled, sits on a chair, giving a very charged speech. "You need to protect your daughters," she tells the gathering. Heads nod in agreement. The anguish on some faces is transparent. One elderly woman wipes her tears. The speaker is Asiya Andrabi, leader of Kashmir's separatist women's organisation, Dukhtaran-e-Milat, or Daughters of the Faith.
Today's speech, says Ms Andrabi, is to raise awareness among the women about a recent sex scandal that has rocked the Kashmir valley. Ms Andrabi, who has been leading protests against the scandal, is an excellent orator. The daughter of a physician and a housewife, she has had a long career in the limelight.
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