In contrast to earlier riots, women were victimised in the
direct action day riots in Calcutta. Many Hindu women were kidnapped during the
Noakhali violence. Anti-women violence occurred during the 1946 massacres of Muslims in
Bihar. Thousands were kidnapped just in Patna district. Muslim women in Bihar committed suicide by jumping into wells. In November 1946, Muslim women were subjected to stripping, nude processions and rape by Hindu mobs in the town of
Garhmukteshwar. In
Amritsar, Sikhs paraded naked Punjabi Muslim women, who were then publicly raped before being set fire to in the street. Systematic violence against women started in
March 1947 in Rawalpindi where Sikh women were targeted by Muslim mobs. Numerous Hindu and Sikh villages were wiped out. Huge numbers of Hindus and Sikhs were killed,
forcibly converted, often circumcised in public, children were kidnapped and women were abducted, paraded naked, raped publicly and 'roasted alive after their flesh had satisfied carnal lust'. The official figure of death in Rawalpindi stood at 2,263. Before further attacks many Sikh women committed suicide by jumping in
water wells to save honour and avoid conversion. Sikh political leaders had considered plans for the eventual expulsion of Muslims from East Punjab in case of a partition leading up to the event.
Tara Singh, a member of
Shiromani Akali Dal and principle Sikh leader during the partition said “We took the decision to turn the Muslims out" years before the event. Intending to oust the Muslims in East Punjab to provide lands for the incoming Sikh population from West Punjab. Several districts in Punjab, including
Patiala,
Faridkot and
Nabha were governed by Sikh leaders and reported to have been arming and providing safe haven for Sikh marauding groups in anticipation of partition. In retaliation, in the streets of
Sialkot, Sikh and Hindu women were paraded naked in public and mass raping took place the same as was in Amritsar. The same atrocities were repeated in
Sheikhupura, Pakistan. Children would be snatched from their parents, tossed on spears and swords, and sometimes thrown alive into the fire. Hindu and Sikh women's breasts, noses and arms would be lopped off. Sticks and pieces of iron would be thrust into their private parts. Bellies of pregnant women were ripped open and the unformed life in the womb thrown out.
Estimates of abductions The exact figures of abducted women are unknown and estimates vary. Leonard Mosley wrote that in total 100,000 girls were abducted on all sides. The Indian government estimated that there were 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women in Pakistan and the Pakistani government estimated that there were 50,000 Muslim women abducted in India. Andrew Major estimates that 40-45,000 women in total were abducted in Punjab during the Partition riots, with approximately twice as many Muslim women as Hindu and Sikh women having been abducted. Masroor estimates that 60,000 Muslim women were abducted while Begum Tassaduq Hussain estimated that 90,000 Muslim women were abducted. Others estimate that more Hindu and Sikh women were victims of violence as compared to Muslim women, for instance
Urvashi Butalia, who specializes in Partition violence against women, says that anywhere from 25,000 to 29,000 Hindu and Sikh women were concerned as compared to 12,000 to 15,000 Muslim women, numbers which have been endorsed by Indian scholars Roshni Sharma and Priyanca Mathur Velath as well by historian Anwesha Sengupta. Gurbachan Singh Talib estimates that 50,000 Hindu and Sikh women were abducted in West Pakistan while M. A. Khan puts the figure at 100,000.
Mridula Sarabhai, who was engaged in recovering and rehabilitating women and championing their cause with both governments, estimated that some 125,000 Hindu and Sikh women had been kidnapped by Muslims in Pakistan. == Recoveries ==