Dukhtaran-e-Millat (Daughters of the Nation or DeM) is a radical Islamist women's group known for its vigilante efforts to impose strict Islamic practice in Indian-administered Kashmir, as well as its aid to other Kashmiri separatist groups. <P>  <br /><br />DeM was created in 1987 by Asiya Andrabi, a firebrand leader described as both a radical Islamist and feminist. Initially the outfit was formed to help Kashmiri women gain rights conferred to them by Islam, but the group quickly morphed in to a militant organization.  Leaving behind their original concerns for women's rights, the group is now a religious-separatist movement that believes Kashmir should be part of Pakistan, and that violent jihad is necessary to bring about change in the region and the Islamic world as a whole.  <P><br /><br />The DeM publicly emerged in 1989, at the onset of the insurgency that has plagued Kashmir for years. Members of DeM were mostly involved in non-violent protests, and were key supporters of a movement to close salons, bars, theatres, and any other institution deemed un-Islamic.  The group made headlines in 1992 after attacking several Kashmiri women who defied a DeM communiqu&#233; ordering all women to wear the burqa (women's clothing that covers the whole body from head to toe, including the eyes, which are hidden behind a mesh veil).  In 1993, Andrabi was arrested with her husband, a member of the Hizbul Mujahideen (HuM) militant group.  Charged with "anti-national" activities, Andrabi spent a year in jail, reportedly with her infant son. <P><br /><br />In 1995, DeM was held responsible for a bomb blast that killed Mushtaq Ali, a photographer from Agence France Presse in Kashmir.  According to news reports, a woman dressed in a burqa entered the BBC/Reuters office in Srinagar and introduced herself as a member of DeM.  She dropped off a parcel addressed to Yusuf Jameel, the BBC and Reuters news agency correspondent in Kashmir.  Mushtaq Ali opened the package which promptly exploded, killing him, and injuring two others.  The DeM denied responsibility for the attack, but it is highly likely that the perpetrator of the bombing was a member of the group.  <P><br /><br />In 2001, the group made headlines for publicly supporting a campaign of violence against women who refused to wear the burqa.  The campaign was waged by a previously unknown group called Lashkar-e-Jabbar (LeJ).  Despite DeM's support, even the most militant of Kashmiri separatists condemned LeJ's actions. <P> <br /><br />Perhaps more damaging then any overt action taken by DeM, the group's covert activities with other terrorist groups in Kashmir are also of great concern.  DeM is widely suspected of gun-running, money laundering, providing shelter, and serving as couriers and spies for several Kashmiri outfits including HuM and Jamiat ul-Mujahedin (JuM). <br />