KWOHR condemns NCW, alleges of being bias
Source: Chronicle News Service

Kanpokpi, December 22 2024: In a rebuttal to the National Commission for Women's (NCW) recent letter regarding violence: in Jiribam, Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR) accused the commission of hypocrisy and systemic bias.

The letter, dated December 20, comes after nearly 18 months of silence from the NCW on atrocities against Kuki tribal women amidst ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur.

KWOHR general sec retary Kimneihoi Lhungdim expressed deep disappointment over the NCW's failure to address repeated pleas for justice since the outbreak of violence on May 3, 2023 .

The organisation highlighted the grave atrocities faced by Kuki women including sexual violence, murder and mass displacement, allegedly orchestrated by Meeteis, with the tacit support of state leaders.

KWOHR claimed that while the NCW swiftly addressed violence in Jiribam, it has ignored extensive reports of systematic atrocities against Kuki women including alleged cases of rape, torture and forced displacement.

Despite international condemnation, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi's acknowledgment of the infamous Phainom case, the NCW has taken no concrete action against state-backed perpetrators, it alleged, while accusing chief minister N Biren Singh's administration of orchestrating a violence against Kuki tribals with the help of armed Meetei militias.

KWOHR also demanded proactive investigations by the NCW into crimes against Kuki women, disbanding of militias and an end to alleged state support for private militias, intervention by global organisations like the UN and Amnesty International to address what the KWOHR termed as "crimes against humanity" and a commitment from NCW to uphold the rights of all women, irrespective of ethnicity or community.

KWOHR has urged international leaders to intervene in Manipur's ethnic violence, accusing the Gov ernment of India of failing to protect its tribal communities.

The organisation stressed that continued silence in the face of systemic atrocities is tantamount to complicity.

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