Relooking from the other side
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: May 11, 2013 -

On the facts about violence against women, the first two lines of the mission statement of Battered Women's Support Service (BWSS) read, "When it comes to statistics relating to violence against women and children, it's important to know that you don't have to be a math expert to understand the numbers. You simply have to be willing to recognize that each statistic represents a woman, child, or family — a life — torn apart by violence and abuse".

Founded in 1979 by a group of determined women with the main objective of eliminating violence against women, BWSS has been providing education, advocacy and support services to assist all battered women, who have experienced abuse, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. But with expansion in its scope and reach, in 2010, BWSS partnered with Vancouver Police Department, Bar Watch, WAVAW and BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre to launch 'The Violence Stops Here: Don't be that Guy' campaign, to elicit the support of men in ending violence against women by giving out the message that 'violence against women isn't only a woman's issue, but is clearly an issue for men' in the society as well.

We are alluding to the mission statement and message of BWSS to drive home the point that men can and should also play an important role in fighting against rising crimes against women in the society, especially in a patriarchal set-up like ours' with deep-rooted gender inequality.

But the fact remains that whether it is in a patriarchal or matriarchal social set up, violence against women is rising everywhere today despite unceasing global effort towards elimination of crimes and violence against women.

A quick look through the daily newspapers published around the world only give us an idea on the epic proportion that the phenomenon of crime and violence s against women has taken today.

Leaving aside the scenario in other parts of the world and India, the tiny State of Manipur is also witnessing a steep rise in crime and violence against women in recent years, that too, despite the emergence of a large number of active women's vigil groups and various civil society bodies taking up the cudgel to fight for the cause of 'deprived' women.

It is true that gender-based violence against women is very much a reality in Manipur even though we may ironically take pride in using such euphemism like 'land of Meira Paibis' or 'the land of two Nupi Lans' in describing the State, which again we love to call 'motherland'.

So, in such a situation, to make any indication on the complicity of women in the rising crime against themselves in Manipuri society or, for that matter, in other parts of the globe, would be almost like a sacrilege and we may be damned as MCP (Male Chauvinist Pig).

But the recent incident of a young woman, who has already eloped with a man and was waiting for their due wedding date, being caught with another man acquainted with her only three days back (perhaps, through mobile phone), in the dark room of some seedy restaurants, definitely calls for a rethink on the factors contributing to rising crime against women in Manipur.

We may simply brush aside this aberration as an isolated case, but who could deny there wouldn't be many more such isolated cases?