Exclusions From Within
A study on the various dimensions of social exclusion prevailing in Manipur society

Seram Neken *

Programme on Violence against women and children at Motbung :: February 2010

"I am on second line ART (Ante-Retroviral Treatment) now. My father died in the year 2000. Four years later, my mother left us to live with another man …………" - a tearful 15 year old girl who lost her father to AIDS eleven years back shared her ordeal in a recent interaction session at Imphal. The HIV positive girl along with three other sisters is struggling to survive today.

Her elder sister of 22 years continued the narration that as her mother left them, she had to bear the responsibility of looking after her younger sisters. She takes tuition and works in an NGO to earn their living. The hapless girls do also make soft toys to supplement their income. Thus, children either orphans or living with single parents, boldly came out to reveal their concealed stories, to express desires for growing up and studying like others. It is a clear example of social exclusion facing the HIV affected children in Manipur. "
– Writes Seram Neken

Social exclusion is a multi-dimensional process of progressive social rupture, detaching groups and individuals from social relations and institutions, and preventing them from full participation in the normally prescribed activities of the society in which they live. As discrimination is a human nature, everyone or every group everywhere feels excluded in one or the other way either mentally or physically. Human beings are excluded politically, socially, economically, religiously or ethnically from existing social entities in varied forms for one or the other reason.

Social Exclusion is a new concept in Manipur, although it has been in existence among the various peoples and groups since long time back. Dissatisfaction of certain individuals or groups in matters of co-existence may be referred to as exclusion - it may be either from within or from without. Among the many facets of social exclusions prevailing in the country, the most commonly encountered and impactful in Manipur are the exclusion of women (gender-based) and children, HIV related discriminations and ethnic/ communal exclusion.

Exclusion of children:

Education is the main sector where a lot of children are discriminated in the society. Although the Right to Education (RTE) act is in force, at the implementation stage there are lots of drawbacks regarding reach and access. In spite of having a well designed policy, many children are excluded from their rights to education due to lacks of awareness, infrastructure and teaching staffs.

Those associated with the mission are not duly committed to the cause of education for all. The local clubs, NGOs, CBOs, parents and government departments have to jointly bring about equal educational opportunities to the children so that social exclusion of children from educational opportunities is minimized at the maximum.

Child labour is another area where children below 14 years are made to work in hotels, automobile workshops, domestic chores etc. to support their family and parents. Although the provisions of the constitution of India and the child labour prohibition and regulation act 1986 prohibit the utilization of children in such activities, the Manipur society seems to ignore the issue. There have also been rampant cases of child trafficking in the state.

For instance, police in June last foiled an attempted trafficking of five children below 12 years from Moirang area of Manipur's Bishnupur district. The elders escorting the children reportedly convinced the police that they were taking the children outside the state for better education. In another case, 19 children from Tamenglong district were rescued from an orphan home in Maharashtra. Around 200 cases of child trafficking have been reported during 2007 to February, 2010 in Manipur. Even in orphanages of the state, complaints regarding maltreatment of inmates by the authority have been reported. These are concrete examples of exclusion of child rights and opportunities.

Exclusion of women: (gender based)

When a married woman indulges in illicit extra-marital sexual relationships with other man, she is ostracized by the family, relatives, locality and society at large. However, in case the same thing happens to a man, he is accepted by the society. Even if the man brings home second wives to the family, the society does not resort to punish him. Hence, no matter the act committed is socially sanctioned or not, the treatment meted out to women is much more contradictory to that done to men.

The mother, a woman, who prepares food in the family, always attaches priority in feeding the husband and the sons. When the boys finish their dinner, the mother will eat with the daughters the rest of the items - no matter it is enough or not for them. Most women have the mentality to treat girls as inferior to the boys. Feeding, clothing, educating and health care for women or girls are often considered as secondary tasks as compared to those for men.

In this regard, Educationist Konika Khuraijam commented that women in Manipur face exclusion in almost all sectors. Issue of women exclusion has to be dealt with right from 'Chaga Chaba' (eating the unwanted over-baked rice) to 'Aremba Chaba' (eating the remains) in the traditional Manipuri families; she said adding that the society has wrongly modeled a picture of good women as submissive women.

Paonam Thoibi, a Clinical Psychologist gives her opinion that there is the male preference in every walks of life starting from expecting a new baby to decision making in the family. The society even relies on a mentally unsound man rather than on a cautious woman. Solution lies in encouraging participation and empowerment, according to her. Male folks should be also empowered to enable them to swallow their pride and accept the need for equality with women.

Another woman activist, Anita Sougaijam pointed out that when a man and woman together do something which is against the norms of society, fingers are pointed more to the woman even though both are part of the act. Women are often discriminated in decision making process although her role is considered important in it, she lamented.

According to Liklainu Chanu Maisnam, a young lady government employee, women in Manipur have become more assertive nowadays. However, women are under represented politically. We need to produce more women engineers, scientists, astronauts, rock climbers etc. in order to break the male-bastion in this domain. As we often hear of women discrimination in the work place, women should be fully equipped to meet the challenges, she suggested.

It is said that the status of women in Manipuri society nowadays is considerably improved. Ladies role in important seminars, workshops and functions which was generally limited to badge-pinning of VIPs, bouquet presentations and tea distribution, has now widened to participation in discussions and deliberations with the appearance of a number of women intellectuals, journalists, social workers, politicians and responsible officials.

The picture, however, is not all rosy everywhere. There are still reports of domestic violence, coercion, rape and atrocities against women. Most Manipuri women face hardships in earning, feeding and serving families. Many women are still living under coercion of their husbands. Women are always victims, if their husbands indulge in immoral activities. There are also men who forcibly take money from their wives to use drugs and to have drinks and also men who live with second wives out side families.

More disheartening is involvement of woman in perpetrating violence against another woman. In families, localities and society at large, women themselves look down upon their own counterparts. When the son indulges in unwanted behaviour outside the family, no mother bothers seriously. But when the daughter-in-law does a tiny mistake in family, the mother-in-law scolds and even ostracise, as if the former has committed an irreparable mistake in life. Women exclusion are not wholly the perpetration of the opposite sex, women themselves depower their own folks.

HIV related exclusion: Binobala Nongmeikapam in her personal observation of the society states that women and children infected or affected with HIV/AIDS are the most socially discriminated in our society. The taboo they have to live with is traumatic and lifelong. In spite of many awareness campaigns, not much justice is done for them. She observes that amid repeated mental or physical harassment, the society at large sees women as something not to be forgiven and not to be supported. It is only in paper that status of women in India vis a vis Manipur is penned as better off nowadays, but in reality it is different.

"The worst discrimination women face in Manipur is that of HIV afflicted widows whose husbands gave them the virus and died, leaving behind kids, either HIV positive or otherwise, only to be fed and groomed by the women. Meanwhile, people particularly the male folks started to raise fingers on their chastity" commented Chanam Urmila, a woman columnist of Manipur.

An HIV affected widow in her early thirties, on condition of anonymity, revealed that many acts of oppression on her and a host of other women of her stature are committed by the opportunist male folks in the workplace, sometimes even at the health service centres, only because of their hapless status. Such types of discrimination, victimization and oppression are not uncommon in Manipur society.

The mysterious killing of an HIV-positive woman, Moirangthem Ongbi Rasheshwori (33) wife of M Ibomcha of Seijang Mayai Leikai in Manipur on the night of June 2 last is one of the most recent instances of HIV related exclusion of women in Manipur society. She was allegedly killed by her husband for keeping her HIV status concealed. In spite of various laws and policies on HIV and AIDS, there is still the atmosphere of stigmatization and discrimination against HIV infected people prevailing in Manipur. Although the AIDS awareness level, as per official records, has nearly reached cent percent, the quantum of understanding among the general people is still negligible as revealed by such sad incidents.

Discrimination of HIV infected people in Manipur society is not a new story. The stigma and discrimination attached to HIV infected people are due to ignorance about the disease by the general people. When the ignorance and misconception surrounding the HIV and AIDS menace is removed, when we all realize that HIV virus is not transmitted via social gatherings, we will not discriminate infected people.

When we avoid the thinking that HIV and AIDS are behaviour related ailment, we will not stigmatise the HIV infected people. In spite of having the AIDS policies at national and state levels to prohibit any kind of discrimination against HIV AIDS infected or infected people, there are still cases of exclusion of the affected.

Ethnic /communal Exclusion:

There are innumerable number of different ethnic groups and communities residing in various places - both hills and valley of Manipur. Small and even very small groups exist in Manipur. They follow their own cultures, customs, traditions, lifestyles and speak their own dialects. The existence - rather co-existence of these groups needs an environment where they freely live without compulsions and forces from within and without. The larger groups' trying to merge the smaller ones for their political chauvinistic goals creates hardships for the smaller ones. This is also a common way of social exclusion of the small ethnic groups from the united structure. On the one hand, there are various insurgent groups based on ethnicity that resort to exclusion of the other for their selfish ends.

Even though huge amounts have been pumped in to improve connectivity and infrastructure at the remote hill areas of the state, real development hardly reaches the targeted locations and intended beneficiaries as a few well-to-do people ranging from high profile contractors to politicians remain reaping the fruits. Thus, people at the edge are excluded by their own folks. This writer takes the liberty to term it as 'exclusion from within' in the larger connotation of social exclusion as a global phenomenon.

The reservation policy which intends to bring the backward at par with the so called upward majority community has also been maligned as a few of the targeted people avails - rather snatches the opportunity again and again. Distributive justice in the true sense of the term is almost invisible in this regard.

Conclusion:

The hardships felt by the discriminated individuals, groups and communities out of the social exclusions perpetrated by its own people in its own land have made the writer recall the famous lines from Rabindranath Tagore "WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high, Where knowledge is free, Where the world has not been broken up into fragments, By narrow domestic walls ……………….. Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake." It is high time we strived to gain an inclusive composite society in the Manipur nation where varied, diverse and colourful cultures and peoples flourish.

(This article is filed under R.K Maipaksana Journalist Fellowship)