Discourses on Manipuri women primarily deal with their political action
and their socio-economic role. But, whenever the status of women and
gender discrimination issues are brought up, most scholars and activists
choose to look the other way.
No
doubt, the participation of Manipuri women in political action is legendary.
During the British colonial period, the womenfolk rose against the colonial
policies not only once but twice (1904 and 1939).
In the
past, it was the colonial policies of the British which became the focal point
of Women's War. Today, they are at the forefront of the movement for the
protection of human rights in the midst of the armed conflict.
Beside
the violence inflicted by the armed forces, the psychological trauma caused by
the diverse forms of repression, the sense of insecurity and the absence of
stability in their lives, they also shoulder the additional burden of sexual
abuse and discrimination.
It was
in such a situation that the Meira Paibi was born. They have taken unto
themselves the responsibility of protecting innocent people from the excesses of
military action.
In the
socio-economic sector, Manipuri women play a very important role. They are the
managers of the local market network and they actively participate in all kinds
of productive activities. But in the contemporary development, we are also
witnessing the increasing marginalization of these women.
Much
have been written on the political and socio-economic role of women. But an
empirical study on the real situation of Manipuri women vis-a-vis the
universally recognised human rights, is yet to be done.
Behind
the facade of political and socio-economic role, the lives of many Manipuri
women are still governed by prejudices and stereotypes of a patriarchal society.
The
prejudices and stereotypes were so deep-rooted in the socio-cultural structure
of Manipuri society that it became the reason for continued ignorance of the
inherent violence or discrimination. The tragedy is the general lack of interest
even among the enlightened women to admit the discrimination or to challenge the
status quo.
HRA
shall be failing in its responsibilities as a self-professed monitor of the
human rights situation of Manipur, if we continue to ignore such an important
sector of human rights. We shall also not miss out on the overarching issue of
the violence against women in the de-facto, permanent state of emergency either
and the increasing marginalization of the women's economic function.
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