In the land of Nupi Lans...Women 'made to' lag behind in all spheres
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 13 2020: Even as the State has witnessed two historically significant 'Nupi Lans' and other movements where women were the frontrunners, State women continue to remain socially and politically inferior.

Though fewer number of women manage to occupy seats in local rural and urban bodies, their representation in the State Assembly as MLAs or MPs at the Parliament still remains insignificant.

Absence of a woman MLA in the Council of Ministers of the present Government can be considered as a fine example of how women are poorly represented or excluded from the decision making process.

State women, despite their immense contribution starting right from engaging in household chores to winning bread for their families, largely come under unorganised sector or informal sector which neither has economic security nor job security, making them vulnerable all the time.

Speaking in this regard, the first woman from Manipur to become a Member of Parliament, Kim Gangte lamented that the State continues to see women being subjugated not only by men but also by women themselves.

For a society or a community to develop, equal contributions from both the men and women are necessary, she said while asserting that it was saddening to see fewer women representatives in the Government despite their immense roles since ages.

To get empowered and walk at par with men, women need to introspect on their abilities, capability and have faith in themselves that they are equally powerful and their participation in decision making are equally important, she said.

What is more concerning is the growing number of crime against women including rape, domestic violence and even murder, said Kim while recalling the recent incident at Mayang Imphal where a girl was allegedly gangraped and abandoned near a roadside pond.

The public outrage after the death of the girl a day after she was hospitalised is still fresh, she continued.

The secretary of Women Action for Development, Sobita Mangsatabam, who is a human rights defender and fighting crimes against women, expressed regret that parents even in this age, continue to prefer boys to girls and as such cases of female foeticide persists.

Grand celebrations on birth of a baby boy and a simple ceremony on birth of a girl, denial of 'Jatra Puba' on marriage ceremonies for women whose first child are girls and other stereotypical practices clearly show whether the status of women has been improving or is retrograding over time, she continued.

Moreover, the conditions of the women affected by armed conflict in the State cannot be ignored as there are more than 1500 cases of extrajudicial killings pending in the Supreme Court.

Speaking to this reporter, Renu Takhellambam, president of Extrajudicial Execution Victims' Family Association (EEVFAM), said that many women who have lost their sons, grandsons and husbands in alleged fake encounters carried out by armed forces, continue to fight for justice.

Renu also appealed to all to extend moral and psychological support to these aggrieved and helpless women.

Cultural activist Ningthouja Lancha, going back to the historical era, said that Manipur used to have a judicial system called 'Kuchu' where women were at the rein and it shows that women in Manipur used to hold high positions earlier.

The position of women however was drawn to a new low after 'Khongjom War-1891' and the subsequent emergence of 'Western Colonialism', said Lancha.

The Nupi Lan of 1939 was such an uprising that occurred after the positions of the women in the State were downgraded considerably, he continued.

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