THE STORY OF THE NEGLECTED
Exclusion of Manipuri women: A case study
- Part 1 -

Seram Neken *

Mass Rally protesting crime against women in June 2013 :: Pix - Deepak Oinam

"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 an interaction. 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.

In another revelation, a twenty nine year old woman narrated "when my husband was brutally killed by the armed people during communal clashes, nothing except my two small daughters and a dilapidated hut was left at the far away abandoned village in Churachandpur district. Amidst the scare and tearful longing for months, we had to starve many a day. As an innocent housewife of 19 years, my option was only to die in the footsteps of my husband. However, I was compelled to live for I had to feed my small kids, the age of the smaller being only 6 months then. My elder daughter, 2 years by that time, helped me a lot in rearing her sister even while I was out to beg food from nearby village. I could not die, even though my fate dictated me to do so. My love for my daughters forced me to live, rather to sell my chastity as a woman. I was ready to do whatever that gave life to my children."

The sex-worker-turned-housewife who migrated to the heart of Imphal city out of necessity is residing at rent somewhere in Imphal along with her two daughters. Her only dream is to see her siblings complete matriculation and get suitable jobs at any agency so as to survive in this highly materialistic world. She wished her present HIV status would not dash her purpose of living.

A number of excluded women have turned to sex work due to economic necessity, social unrest, communal hatred, irresponsible male behaviour, dearth of earning avenues, increasing immorality among both the male and female folks, lack of recreational room in society, absence of work culture among the males etc. These are a few clear examples of social exclusions facing the women of Manipur, the north eastern state of India bordering Myanmar.

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 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).

When a married woman indulges in illicit extra-marital sexual relationships with other man, she is ostracized by the family, relatives, locality or 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 whether 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.

Traditionally, women in Manipur face exclusion in almost all sectors right from the domestic chores to the social platforms. Women in Manipur households are usually identified as 'Chaga Chaba' (eating the unwanted over-baked rice) to 'Aremba Chaba' (eating the remains) in the traditional Manipuri families. The society has wrongly modeled a picture of good women as submissive women. Traditionally, 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. 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. Although women in Manipur have become more assertive nowadays, they are still under represented politically.

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.

Women and children infected or affected with HIV/AIDS are the most socially discriminated in Manipur 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. 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.

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 Manipur on the night of June 2 2011 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.

During the years 2012 and 2013, numerous cases of molestations, assaults, rapes and murders in Manipur. State police has considerably failed to prevent, probe and investigate such cases properly, thereby letting recurrence of the same again and again. For instance, Manipur police personnel remained silent spectators on the attempted assault on a Manipuri female actress by the insurgent leader of an organization at the fag end of 2012. State Police, as an institution for protection of citizens, lost its very purpose of existence out of fear. A few days later, a girl heading for Christmas celebrations along with her colleagues was molested at a place near the capital city by three youths. To no avail, the girl's team had earlier sought police assistance in reaching their village. Had the police escorted the team to their destination, the unfortunate incident might have been averted. In another case, a young lady called Satyabhama Devi was found brutally killed at a paddy field in greater Imphal area during 2013.

Rape has become the most familiar word in India, particularly Manipur. It is the most naked reality in the villages as well as cities in India. Sometimes the victim is forced to keep her mouth shut by her family, at other times police don't register the crime under the influence of the accused and then the doctor at times may manipulate the report. The ground reality is that hundreds of rape cases still go undisclosed and unregistered in Manipur.

Traditional India respected its women as much as it attaches importance on goddesses like the Durga, Parvati, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Sita, Radha etc. The status of women in India is also considered at par with their male counterparts in ancient times. Ancient Indian works such as Patanjali and Katyayana reveal that women were educated in the early Vedic period. Rigvedic verses suggest that the women married at a mature age and were probably free to select their husband. Scriptures such as Rig Veda and Upanishads mention several women sages and seers, notably Gargi and Maitreyi. Women enjoyed equal status and rights during the early Vedic period. Later on, the status of women began to decline with the Smritis and with the Islamic invasion of Babur and the Mughal Empire and later Christianity curtailing women's freedom and rights.

The Indian woman's position in the society further deteriorated during the medieval period when Sati among some communities, child marriages and a ban on widow remarriages became part of social life among some communities in India. The Muslim conquest of the Indian subcontinent brought the Purdah practice in the Indian society. In some parts of India, the Devadasis or the temple women were sexually exploited. Polygamy was widely practised especially among Hindu Kshatriya rulers. In many Muslim families, women were restricted to Zenana areas.

Although status of women was somewhat at low points in the medieval period, many reformers were born to modern India to bring women at par with their male counterparts. In modern India today, women have adorned high offices of the country including that of the President, Prime Minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Leader of the Opposition. Till recently, the Speaker and the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha are women. Indira Gandhi, who served as Prime Minister of India for an aggregate period of fifteen years is the world's longest serving woman Prime Minister. Women in India now participate in all activities such as education, sports, politics, media, art and culture, service sectors, science and technology, etc. However, women in India continue to be abused, raped and murdered.

To be continued...