Over 6000 women across Kangpokpi district participated in a massive rally and sit-in-protest organized by the Kuki Women Organization for Human Rights (KWOHR) on Friday at Kangpokpi district headquarters.
The massive rally and sit-in-protest were organized against the gross human rights violation of the Kuki-Zo women and children.
The rally was held along the NH2 from Brig M Thomas Ground and proceeded toward Deputy Commissioner Kangpokpi’s office where leaders of the KWOHR handed over a memorandum for the Prime Minister to the DC Kangpokpi.
After handing over the memorandum, the protesters returned to Brig M Thomas Ground and held a sit-in-protest till 4 pm.
In a heartbreaking moment during the sit-in-protest, a mother from Kangpokpi, Hatnu Kipgen donated her gold rings to help the Kuki-Zo raped women and encouraged the womenfolk to come forward to help them as well, wherein, the womenfolk contributed more than lakhs to show solidarity towards the Kuki-Zo victim women.
Hahat Touthang, President of KWOHR said that after the Nirbhaya rape case, the Supreme Court in 2013 defined rape committed during communal or sectarian violence as “Aggravated forms of Rape” and the culprits shall be awarded capital punishment.
Neinou, the General Secretary of KWOHR, while strongly condemning the recent shocking video viral incident, sought the immediate intervention of the Central Government stating that the ongoing crisis has displaced 54,488 people and left 142 dead, the majority of whom are Kuki-Zomi tribal civilians.
Manipur is in a dire situation with the state government is complicit and inept at handling the situation, she said, adding that “the recent video of Kuki-Zo women being paraded naked and raped by a Meitei mob as the police watched on is evident of how unsafe we are in Manipur”.
“Human rights violation of women is a matter of great urgency and we want justice. As the internet slowly opens up, many more stories highlighting the usage of sexual violence as a weapon in this conflict are emerging.
“Therefore, we demand the establishment of a special investigation team to be monitored by the Supreme Court to bring swift justice to all those involved in the atrocities since May 3.
“Secondly, the deployment of army personnel in the buffer zones for our safety and security.
“Thirdly, given that we live in a very vulnerable state, we seek the Prime Minister’s support in establishing a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo tribes under the provisions mentioned in the Constitution of India.”
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