Manipuri Women Fighting On Frontline As Northeastern State Reels In The Wake Of Ethnic Violence

Houses ransacked and vandalised, bullets fired, vehicles set on fire, thousands displaced and people killed in cold blood - this is Manipur of May 2023.

The violence began in the first week of May after a rally by the indigenous communities against moves to grant tribal status to the main ethnic group (Meiti) in the State. It soon spiralled into a serious ethnic clash - leaving at least 70 dead, more than 200 injured and thousands displaced.

It is ultimately the most vulnerable sections that face the worst in times of war or violence.

One group that has faced the worst kinds of violence as Manipur burns - and continues to burn - are the women.

Women of all communities bear the brunt

The Tangkhul Welfare Society of Mumbai, in a condemnation notice, stated, "..four Tangkhul women who were traveling by auto rickshaw towards Imphal Airport .. were waylaid and dragged down by their hair from the auto rickshaw without any reasons or identifications. One was hit with an iron bar and sustained injuries, another was dragged around, and her shirt was torn apart."

L Haokip, a member of the Kuki Innpi, Manipur, said while speaking to The Outlook, "Many women have delivered babies on roads and in cars. Several pregnant and lactating women are currently in relief homes with no medical support or nutrition."

Women at a relief camp, 16th May 2023/ @epaomanipur

Women taking charge

Some women have not feared from taking charge of the situation and have indeed fought from the frontlines.

On the 7th of May, 2023, women of the Kuki community formed a human chain in Churachandpur town to protect people of the majority Meitei community from a mob.

Human chain formed by women in Manipur/ Twitter

A resident told PTI, "Womenfolk lined up on the street and they did not allow the mob to move further or indulge in any kind of vandalism as people were being evacuated from violence-affected areas."

In Bishnupur town on 24th May, women - armed with sticks - blocked the security forces from entering, suspicious of their intentions.

Women blocked central security forces from entering the violence-hit area as they have no faith in the central forces. #Manipur

It¡¯s been 3 weeks since the violence erupted and still continuing¡­. pic.twitter.com/JpLuQ9UPqe

¡ª Reagan Moirangthem ????? ????????? ?? (@reagan_moirangt) May 24, 2023

A week after Manipur was swept by ethnic violence, women shopkeepers returned to the Nupi Keithel, a daily market run exclusively by women in the state and began selling their goods even though the situation had not returned to normalcy yet.

Nupi Keithel, all-women marketplace/ TOI

Manipuri women in history

This is not the first time that Manipuri women have fought back in conflict situations.

Back in the 1970s (during the anti-AFSPA protests), Meira Paibi (women torch bearers) began as a social movement by women who carried flaming torches through the city streets, often at night, to seek redress against human rights violations committed by paramilitary and armed forces units against the innocent.

During the British rule, women stood up against chaktangba (a rise in food prices such as rice) to protest against the government's oppressive policies that impacted the Manipuri's people's food supplies in a movement called the Nupi Lan (Women's War; Women's Uprising).

In 2004, to protest against the rape of Thangjam Manorama by men of the Assam Rifles, Manipuri women gathered in front of Kangla Fort in Imphal and ripped off their clothes - daring the jawans to rape them as well.

Manipuri women, thus, have always played an important role as agents in the protest against violence and human rights violations in the State.

Today too, as Manipur reels amidst ethnic discord, Manipuri women are not waiting on the sidelines but fighting back - in an attempt to return to normalcy.

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