What video of women being paraded naked tells us about violence in Manipur

Manipur in northeast India is a state of fertile land, greenery and home to some three million people. For the past two months it is also seen unflinching violence, riots, vandalism as a result of a longstanding feud between the Meitei and Kuki communities. Many have gone as far as saying that the state is on the verge of a civil war. A retired lieutenant general in India’s Army even tweeted in June: “The state is now ‘stateless’. Life and property can be destroyed anytime by anyone just like in Libya, Lebanon, Nigeria, Syria etc.” Amid this unabated violence, a video – showing two women from the Kuki community being paraded naked by a mob of men and being sexually assaulted – emerged on social media on Wednesday night that has provoked sharp reactions from all corners, with Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani even speaking to state’s Chief Minister N Biren Singh. As the country continues to remain in the grip of violence, we take a closer look at how women in the state have found themselves in the middle of the carnage. Paraded naked, sexually assaulted A horrific video has surfaced on social media on Wednesday which shows two women being paraded naked on a road by a group of men in Manipur. Scores of young men can be seen walking alongside as other men drag the distressed-looking women into the fields. According to reports, the two women were then gang-raped in a field, a tribal organisation has alleged. A senior police official has confirmed that the incident took place on 4 May in Thoubal district and that a zero FIR had been registered in the matter on 18 May in Kangpokpi district. However, while the FIR, on charges including abduction, gangrape and murder against “unknown armed miscreants”, was registered two months ago, there have not been any arrests so far. The two women in the video have been identified to be belonging to the Kuki-Zomi dominated hill district of Kangpokpi. While one is in her 20s, the other is said to be in her 40s. In the disturbing video, they can be seen being made to walk naked down the road and some of the men can be seen dragging the two women towards a field and forcibly groping them. The Scroll has reportedly spoken to one of the women in the video, who has described the ghastly incident in detail. She told the news portal that the assault took place near her village, B Phainom, in Kangpokpi district on 4 May – just a day after clashes had erupted between the Meitei and Kuki communities. [caption id=“attachment_12889572” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Members of Meira Paibis, powerful vigilante group of Hindu majority Meitei women, try to march toward a site of a gunfight between Meiteis and Tribal Kukis in Kangchup, near Imphal. File image/AP[/caption] She recounts that on the day they heard Meitei mobs were burning homes and escaped only to be found by a mob nearby. The mob then began to assault the women, she said, asking them “to strip off our clothes”. “When we resisted, they told me: ‘If you don’t take off your clothes, we will kill you’,” the woman told Scroll, adding that they took off “every item of clothing”. She further recounts that she was then dragged to a paddy field near the road and ordered to lie down. She told the news website that they surrounded her, but didn’t rape her. **Also read: From Kuki-Meitei clashes to Mothers of Manipur, how women are a mainstay of protests in the state** ‘Heart wrenching’ While the Manipur Police has said that investigations are on and they are in the process of arresting the culprits, the video has prompted horror and condemnation from all corners. Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani tweeted: “The horrific video of sexual assault of 2 women emanating from Manipur is condemnable and downright inhuman. Spoke to CM N Biren Singh ji who has informed me that investigation is currently underway and assured that no effort will be spared to bring perpetrators to justice.” Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also wrote, “The images of sexual violence against women from Manipur are heart wrenching. Any amount of condemnation of this horrific incident will fall short. Women and children have to face the maximum brunt of violence in society. We must all condemn the violence in one voice while furthering the efforts for peace in Manipur. Why is the Central government, prime minister sitting blindly on the violent incidents in Manipur? Do such images and violent incidents not disturb them?” Pradyot Bikram Manikya DebBarma, former chief of TIPRA Motha, condemned the incident calling it a “total breakdown” in the relationships between the Meitei and Kuki communities who have been rioting against each other for two months. “Disturbing videos emerging from Manipur about a woman belonging to a particular community being paraded naked by a mob. There is total breakdown in the relationships of the two communities there. Hate has won in Manipur,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_12889582” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Indian paramilitary soldiers stand guard at a road in Imphal. Manipur is caught in a deadly conflict between two ethnic communities that have armed themselves and launched brutal attacks against one another. AP[/caption] Past instances of violence against women However, as shocking as this incident is, it is not the first time that women have been targeted during the ongoing violence in the state. Last Saturday, a woman was shot dead and her face was disfigured in the Sawombung area of Manipur’s Imphal East district. Officials had said that the woman in her 50s was shot in her face. She belonged to the Maring Naga community, they added. A day later, the Manipur Police stated that they had arrested nine people, including five women. On 6 July, unidentified gunmen had shot dead a woman outside a school in Manipur’s Imphal West district. The incident occurred at Kwakeithel Mayai Koibi under Lamphel police station a day after classes began in the state after two months because of the violence. Officials said she had gone near the school on some work but was not connected with any school. **Also read: Why Mizoram is so concerned by the violence in Manipur** Prior to these incident too, other women have been shot dead as clashes between members of the Kuki ethnic group, who mostly live in the hills, and Meiteis, the dominant community in the lowlands, erupted. Unrest in the state Normal living has been disrupted in the northeast state ever since 3 May when violence first broke out between the Kuki and Meitei communities . The clashes have have left more than 100 dead and over 400 wounded. Nearly 60,000 people have been displaced and are taking shelter in some 350 camps. Some 40,000 security forces – army soldiers, paramilitaries, police – are struggling to quell the violence. Only a quarter of the more than 4,000 weapons looted by mobs from police armouries have been voluntarily returned since the violence began, reports the BBC. Furthermore, more than 200 churches and 17 temples have been destroyed or damaged by mobs. Homes of local ministers and legislators have been attacked and set on fire. Curfew has been imposed in the state and schools are shut and internet services have been suspended. Despite efforts from the Centre and Home Minister Amit Shah visiting the state to broker peace, the situation remains volatile and peace evades the region. As Binalakshmi Nepram of Northeast India Women Initiative for Peace tells BBC, “This is the darkest moment in Manipur’s history. “In two days (when the violence began), homes were burnt and people were lynched, burnt and tortured. Manipur has not seen this kind and type of violence in its modern history.” With inputs from agencies