On International Women's Day: PREPAK espouses gender equality
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, March 07, 2014: Greeting all the women of the world on International Women's Day (March 8), the proscribed PREPAK has asserted that human civilization would progress at a pace relative to the degree of gender equality.

A statement issued by the outfit's Publicity and Propaganda Assistant Secretary LeibakNgakpa Luwang averred that the International Women's Day has its roots in the movements aimed at securing women's political and economic rights comparable to men.

The UN declared 1975 as the International Women's Year.

Since then women organisations across the world and Governments have been observing March 8 as International Women's Day.

The new century has brought significant shift in the movements for women emancipation and social outlook.

The new generation seem to be aware that all women-centric movements ended with victory and all the feminists started realising about the static outlook of patriarchal societies since around 1970.But some primary objectives of women movements cannot be achieved till date.

Women are still denied wages entitled to male workers and they are not given the same opportunities as given to fellow males whether it is in commercial sector or public administration.

Kangleipak has its own history of social practices and traditions where women enjoyed high status but after it was brought under the Indian rule, violence and crime against women have been increasing at an alarming rate.

Cases of crime against women rose between 166 to 251 annually since 2011.What is more alarming is the increasing degree of brutality to which women are subjected to.

This is an outcome of merging indigenous culture of the land with socio-religious practices of India where women are treated as inferior to men.

When people of other castes are subjected to continuous subjugation, women are not given any respect rather they are exposed to a dangerous situation.

That is why there are reports of torture, rape, rape and immolation, gang rape etc in different parts of India.

In India, women are subjected to systematic exploitation and the society not only watches it silently but also sanctions the same tradition of female exploitation.

All these cases of violence and crime against women were very rear before Manipur was allegedly annexed by India.

Women were given prominent places in socio-political activities of Kangleipak.

Any man who challenged dignity of women were subjected to severe social castigation and the victims were authorised to seek vengeance.

After AFSPA was imposed in the State, a large number of women were raped by Indian military personnel .

Altogether 30 women were raped in full public view between July 9, 1981 and May 3, 1996.The Indian legal system, being discriminatory, only encouraged such unlawful activities.

Such dreaded and abominable practices cannot be controlled until and unless the political dominance and cultural influence of India is overthrown.

A socio-political solution to the Indian cultural invasion and concomitant ills like female foeticide, negligence of girl child and denial of rights to women still remains elusive.

In the absence of social security and economic self-reliance, many women in their struggle for livelihood have been compromising their dignity and modesty.

This is disastrous not only at individual level but also at the civilizational level.

These disturbing developments are the real picture and characteristics of the colonial regime.

The only solution to all these woes is to struggle collectively for self determination, the outfit asserted.

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