ROLE OF SOCIETY TOWARDS WOMEN DURING THE PARTITION OF PUNJAB

Abstract

Men often justified their actions towards women as part of a broader communal or political goal. In the chaos of Partition, men weaponized women's bodies to make political statements, whether it was to "purify" their community or to humiliate the enemy.After Partition, both India and Pakistan initiated efforts to recover abducted women. Men in law enforcement, government, and social services were instrumental in these operations. However, this process was fraught with challenges. Many women, having been forcibly married and integrated into new families, were reluctant to return. Men’s role in this period was both one of rescuers and, at times, enforcers of societal stigma, as returning women were often ostracized and stigmatized by their own families and communities