📍Dy. Speaker Hall, Constitution Club of India, Rafi Marg, New Delhi
Press Conference
Exposing Atrocities Against Kuki-Zo Women #ManipurViolence
On
International Women's Day
~Organised by Kuki-Zo Women's Forum, Delhi and Kuki Students’ Organization, Delhi & NCR
Press Statement:
In the initial wave of violence that swept through Manipur beginning on May 3, 2023, a shocking number of 20women were brutally killed in the most gruesome manner. This barbaric act marked a dire escalation in the turmoil and set the stage for the extensive human rights violations that followed.
Since that time, Manipur has continued to witness extreme human rights violations, horrendous murders, and a total breakdown of law and order. The Kuki-Zo tribal community living in the state’s capital, Imphal, and its periphery, have been forced to flee their homes after being hunted down in the most barbaric manner inthe lanes of Imphal valley, Manipur. TheKuki-Zo tribalshave been stripped of their fundamental right to life, and to date, even after numerous protests and calls for justice, a fair solution seems to be far away. The Kuki-Zo tribal community has fallen victim to the Meitei majoritarian propaganda, which has been successfully executed under the aegis of the Meitei-centric state government, headed by Chief Minister Shri N. Biren Singh. The distortion of historical facts, the dissemination of false reports by Meitei media houses, and the continuous vilification of the Kukis on various social media platforms have been the means employed by the Meiteis to suppress the voices of the Kuki-Zo tribals.
Women and children have not been spared either. Adeeply disturbing video of two Kuki-Zo tribal women being paraded naked by a Meitei mob went viral on July 19, 2023, and shocked the world. This incident is only thetip of the iceberg in the utterly inhuman torture the Kuki-Zo tribal women have been subjected to. There are numerous testimonies of Kuki-Zo tribal women being raped, molested, and killed by Meitei mobssupported byArambai Tenggols. Notably, the involvement of the Meira Paibis, who are supposedly the torchbearers of society and call themselves the guardians of civil society, in assaulting Kuki-Zo tribal women is profoundly disturbing. Video evidence shows a Kuki-Zo tribal woman being mobbed by the Meiteis while the Meira Paibis (Meitei mothers) are heard instigating the male youths to ‘take away her dignity,’ a euphemism for inciting molestation and rape. Awoman and her son were burnt alive in an ambulance. Amentally challenged elderly woman was shot dead in broad daylight. A teenage girl was kidnapped and threatened by Meitei kidnappers that they would ‘chop her to pieces.’ Medical reports suggest that she was raped.In stark contrast to the instigation seen in Imphal, the compassion demonstrated by Kuki-Zo women in Churachandpur reflect a profound sense of humanity. Kuki-Zo women in Churachandpur formed a human barrier to protect the Meitei people amidst the chaos, preventing the mob from inflicting harm while the evacuations took place. This act of defense occurred despite the distressing events unfolding in Imphal, where reports have surfaced of Meitei women allegedly encouraging violence against Kuki women.
Calls for justice have fallen on deaf ears, and the survivors are left to cope with the haunting trauma on their own, while the perpetrators freely roam around, facing no social or judicial consequences for their murderous acts.
Issued by:
Kuki-Zo Women's Forum, Delhi and Kuki Students’ Organization, Delhi & NCR
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