Ukhrul: Hundreds of women gathered at mini secretariat in Manipur’s Ukhrul district headquarters on Friday and staged a sit-in protest against the “dehumanizing” act in a May 4 video of two tribal women being paraded naked and molested by a mob at a village in Senapati district.
The horrific video of the two Kuki women being paraded naked on a road by a group of men in the strife-torn state has drawn massive condemnation from across the country.
Organised by the Tangkhul Shanao Long (TSL), a women body under the aegis of the Naga Women Union (NWU), women from all walks of life belonging to the Tangkhul Naga community protested to show their solidarity with the women victims of the ethnic conflict. A few men from the community also joined the protest to extend their support to the movement.
Dressed in black traditional attire, the women protestors shouted slogans to express their resentment against the barbaric act meted out to the tribal women.
Meanwhile, vehicular movement along the Ukhrul town was restricted during the sit-in-protest, which began at 11 am and continued till 12 noon.
Speaking to media on the sidelines of the protest, Agnes Shaiza, a representative of the women body, said, “We have seen many riots in many counties and places. But in this modern civilized world, people understand the importance of human rights and accordingly it is being maintained. Unfortunately, there is communal issue in Manipur which is now in turmoil.”
“Today, we have heard of the incident where the modesty of the women have been violated. We all strongly condemn the violation of the human rights, including robbing the modesty of women irrespective of community to which one belongs,” said Shaiza.
Highlighting the recent incident where a woman belonging to Maring Naga community was brutally killed in Imphal, the woman leader said, “How can you kill someone and say it’s a mistaken identity. How can we accept this kind of excuses? This is totally wrong.”
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Demanding the authority concerned to look into the matter and take immediate action against the culprits, the women protestors raised slogans such as “Arrest the culprits,” “peace and harmony now,” “hold the police accountable,” “we long for peace,” “our women our pride,” “women’s safety, our priority,” “end violence, respect women,” “respect our mothers, sisters, daughters,” among others.
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