The New Kashmiri Masculinity

Masculinity in the valley is being rewritten through pay slips that never arrive, exams that repeat every year, and homes where grown men wait for phone alerts that rarely bring good news.

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This shift is visible, measurable, and deeply personal.

Official data place youth unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir among the highest in the country. Recent labour surveys often show rates above 20 percent, and in some age groups, even higher. Government recruitment drives reveal the scale of the pressure: hundreds of thousands apply for a few thousand posts, sometimes fewer. Coaching centers remain packed, while appointment letters stay scarce.

The gap between effort and outcome shapes how men see themselves.

Providing for family remains central to male identity. When income is uncertain, adulthood feels postponed. Many men in their late twenties and thirties continue living with parents longer than planned. Marriage decisions get delayed or hurried. Families speak of stability, but men hear a test of worth.

Sociologists note rising age at marriage among men, alongside growing financial dependence into adulthood.