Human Rights & Drugs
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: December 10, 2014 -

Today is Human Rights Day.

Observance of such a day is highly relevant in this state, where innumerable incidents of human rights violations in one form or the other are still happening.

In the past few decades, people of Manipur had witnessed rampant cases of human rights violations by security forces in the name of counter insurgency.

The conflict situation between the state and the non-state actors was a big challenge to the peace loving innocent citizens of Manipur.

However, nowadays human rights violation appears to have changed its facet with the burgeoning cases of domestic violence and sexual assaults in Manipur families.

‘Murder after Rapes’ of young women including minors has occupied newspaper front pages during the last few years.

Number of suicide attempts among the married women has also increased considerably.

Even during the ongoing observance of ‘International Fortnight protesting violence against women’ in the state, a housewife from Kwakta in Churachandpur district was found killed by unidentified persons in a paddy field on Sunday last.

This case of suspicious death of woman was among the series of incidents with identical nature happened in Manipur during the past few years.

A number of such cases are still pending in law courts, while more are yet to be taken up by the respective Police stations.

This Daily, during the past one month, has published exclusive reports of interviews with the surviving victim families of such human right violation cases.

In almost all cases, complaints regarding non-submission of charge sheets, non-registering of FIRs, non-disclosure of post mortem reports by the state agencies and the like have featured.

The reality is that the government and its related agencies are lethargic in taking up cases of human rights violations on women and children of Manipur.

The usual scenario is that such matters are apparently left to the local mobs, which very often resort to burning of houses of the accused persons before the Police act on it.

‘Right to life’ particularly for women and children is at stake in Manipur.

Child abduction, child assaults, child recruitment, child labour etc. are no longer bizarre incidents in the state, while rapes and atrocities on women are regular affairs in the society.

Immorality and irresponsibility of the male fraternity, coupled with women’s usual attitude of looking-down their own sex have cropped up the menace of domestic violence in the society.

A variety of drugs and intoxicants which have invaded the state’s youths are becoming a big cause for the abuses on women and children.

In addition to re-activation of the law enforcement agencies, control of drug trafficking and drug abuse is the need of the hour to minimize the increasing crimes against women and children.

It is time for serious discussion on the human rights of women and children in relation to drug abuse and trafficking.