Violence and Women: A Case Study of Manipur

Sampa Kundu *

The meira Paibis

Irom Sharmila Chanu, the Iron Lady of Manipur, has already completed ten years of her continuous fast. She upholds an exceptionally courageous movement in India vis-à-vis the world. Her fight for justice for her motherland is still going on and she is the world’s longest-running hunger-striker. Yet, unfortunately, most of our fellow citizens from mainland India are unaware of her struggle; even, do not know her name. This is a way to acknowledge her contribution for the soil of Manipur vis-à-vis India.

BACKDROP:

Manipur, Switzerland of India or Kashmir of East India, as it is often revered, is extremely beautiful and rich in natural resources. Sixty-seven per cent of the total geographical area of Manipur is hills covered by different types of forests. It is a tiny state of India, comprising only 22, 347 km2. Manipur is surrounded by Indian states of Mizoram, Assam and Nagaland and also shares a long porous international border with Myanmar.

The distances between Manipur and Kolkata or even Manipur and Guwahati are longer than what it is between Manipur and Tamu, the nearest town city of Myanmar. That is where Manipur is counted as a serious issue in the books of Government of India and that is why they have placed Manipur along with her seven sisters from the Northeastern part of the country in the most discussed Look East Policy.

In their own effort of fitting Northeast India as a transit point between India and Southeast Asia, our government is actually forgetting Iron Sharmila and the lot of several thousand women of the valley and the hills of Manipur who have been fighting for their homeland and for their right to life, both of which are at stake.

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (hereafter AFSPA) was passed on September 11, 1958, by the Indian Parliament which conferred special powers upon armed forces in the "disturbed areas" in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. In 1972, the Central government assumed the power to declare a place as "disturbed area", which was previously handled by the respective state governments. Interestingly enough, the AFSPA was highly inspired by a British colonial law introduced on the day after the Indian National Congress under Mahatma Gandhi launched the Quit India Movement against the British rule in India in 1942.

The AFSPA is regarded as a draconian law; people and organizations from every corner of the world have requested the Government of India (hereafter GOI) to repeal AFSPA. International organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have also requested for withdrawal of the law; but everything seems to be a failure.

On November 1, 2000, in Malcom, a nearby town of Imphal, ten innocent people waiting at a bus stop were killed by the Assam Rifles. The brutal incident evoked large amount of protests among the masses. Of course, such an incident was not a new one for Manipur. The armed forces of the GOI refused for any inquiry. On November 4, 2000, Iron Sharmila decided to sit for a fast-unto-death demanding removal of AFSPA from her state. Irom Sharmila's struggle is not the lonely one in her state. There have been some other conscious organizations and individuals who have launched protests against the draconian law of the GOI. There are women organizations who have been playing significant role in peace-building and conflict resolution in the region.

OVERVIEW OF WOMEN ACTIVISM IN MANIPUR:

Women in Manipur have always played a significant role both in the social and economic life. Unlike the traditional Indian society, in Manipur, the women did not hide their faces behind curtain or veil even in the colonial era. Women continue to contribute to the family income through doing work in the paddy field or by fishing or weaving dresses or making baskets and so on. Though, female literacy rate and male-female sex ratio (census 2001) tells the story of discrimination against women just like the rest of the Indian society and women's participation in government employment and their representation in the government are low compared to their male fellows, but this has not impeded their involvement in movements for a peaceful life in Manipur.

When the British troop occupied Manipur they adopted a new policy of free trade and under this policy rice was exported to Kohima without any control and the people began to face acute scarcity of rice. In retaliation to this, some unidentified persons burnt the Khawairambam bazaar, some government buildings were also burnt down. In the mean time Maxwell, the then Chief commissioner of Assam, issued an order that the town people of Imphal should contribute in rebuilding of a bungalow.

When the local people revolted against this order, they were suppressed through force by the administration. This compelled the local people to help in reconstructing a bungalow, destroyed by fire. Women then came to the forefront and took the lead in protesting in front of the British residency. The government could not control the situation and decided to withdraw the order for the restoration of the bungalows. This way, the women achieved what the men could not.

Another revolt by the women took place in 1939, popularly known as Nupi Lan. The main cause of this agitation was the rise in the price of rice. Due to unrestricted export of rice and a poor harvest in the state in 1938, Manipur witnessed a severe price rise of rice. This time again women came to the streets and agitated against rice export.

The Nupi Lan paved the way for the emergence of the freedom movement in the state. In the 1980s, women formed groups called Meira Paibis (torch bearers) and started surveillance in the neighborhood to look after the youngstars in particular, so that they were not attacked by the armed forces.

Gradually, they also started fighting to save their own people from excessive usages of liquor and drugs. Liquor and drugs were causing heightened tensions in the family and social life and also leading towards HIV/AIDS endemic. Meria Paibis tried to stop people from consuming alcohol and narcotics. On December 29, 2011, Meira Paibis celebrated the 31st Meira Paibi Day at Iboyaima Shanglen, Palace Compound with a call to further strengthen the Meira Paibi movement.

VICTIMIZATION OF WOMEN:

Women in any armed conflict situation have to face the brunt of it. Several internationally recognized treaties and conventions have made it clear that because of our patriarchal line of thinking violence against women often remains unheard, unnoticed and unregistered. Any kind of violence is bound to leave a deep shock on the victims, and when it remains unattended, it has its after-affects felt throughout the life.

Women face multi-dimensional problems in Manipur, battling an armed conflict from last six decades. Any kind of insurgency and counter-insurgency are bound to generate vulnerabilities in a society, particularly for women. Women, at large, are considered as second citizen and their opinion matters less than a man within a family even in a normal situation.

In a patriarchal society, on one hand, women are often regarded as a burden by their family members and on the other hand, their body and purity are considered as a property of the family and community. All these factors lead us to a situation where female children are made to learn cooking and other household chores when their male counterparts go to the fields to play and build a strong body.

Thus, women are, from the very beginning of their life, are made dependant on their brothers, father, husband and other male members of the family. This actually increases women's defenselessness and helplessness. They are not prepared to lead a life independently, they are expected to obey orders quietly and keep silence when their chastity is attacked by someone else/outsider in order to 'maintain' the hierarchy of the society.

In fact, these are the reasons why women become the targets of the attackers when a society is undergoing a violent conflict-ridden situation. Often, attacking on women of the weaker party of the conflict is regarded as a symbolic victory by the superior party and Manipur represents the same narrative. An NGO, Women Action for Development stated that 28 women were raped and 14 murdered in Manipur within a period of only 10 months in the year 2005.

CONCLUSION:

Women's security and their empowerment are necessary for a sustained development of a nation, a community and the family. The above account was an attempt to contribute to the existing struggle of several lakhs of women and women rights groups or organizations to ring the bell and awake our fellow citizens about the plight of women and its dreadful consequences. It is important that our women feel secured in a society and enjoy similar rights and responsibilities along with their male counterparts in order to facilitate a persistent development for our next generation.

References:

1. Biswas, Nirmalya (2010) “The Conspiracy of Silence”, Mainstream, Vol XLVIII (41), [Online: web] , Accessed on March 13, 2012.
2. Manipur, “Importance of Women in Manipuri society”, [Online: web], , Accessed on March 14, 2012
3. The Sangai Express (2011) “Genesis of meira paibi movement recalled”, as cited in E Pao, December 29 2011, [Online: web], , Accessed on March 14, 2012
4. Ibid (Ref iii)
5. The Assam Tribune, “NGOs take out rally to protest violence against women”, 1 December 2005; as cited in Asian Center for Human Rights (2006), “India Human Rights Report 2006” , Page-Manipur, [Online: web], Accessed on March 15, 2012.