When four terrorists attacked a popular tourist site in Pahalgam on April 22, they targeted Hindu men, with a few exceptions, and took 26 lives, all men. Intriguingly, the terrorists spared all children and adult women – the wives and daughters of the deceased men.

The attack has brought the politics of gender in the conflict to centre stage. Women are being used instrumentally while pushing the larger narrative of payback.

On May 6, the Indian forces retaliated with a precision attack, named Operation Sindoor. The state conveyed its desire to avenge the lost lives on behalf of India’s widows. While it is viewed as having sent a strong message to those operating what India described as “terrorist infrastructure”, touting this attack as a women-centric narrative warrants attention.

The expedient nature of this variety of “justice” aside, one must ask the question: what actually lies in store for these grieving women?

In the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, grief understandably engulfed the country – before morphing into hate. The image of newly-wed Himanshi Narwal, sitting numb in the Pahalgam meadow beside her dead husband, naval officer Vinay Narwal, swept through the media and social media platforms.

The image and AI-generated Ghibli versions of it became the symbol of grief, loss...