NCW didn’t respond to complaint on Manipur sexual assault, rape sent more than a month ago

New Delhi: The video of two Kuki women being paraded naked by a mob recently went viral on social media, sending shock waves across the country and evoking sharp reactions from different quarters.

The incident took place on May 4 while the video went viral only Thursday. The women were sexually assaulted and one of them was allegedly gangraped.

It has now come to light that the National Commission of Women (NCW) had been sent a complaint on the very same issue 38 days before, on June 12. However, the complaint which was filed by two Manipuri women and a Manipur tribal association headquartered abroad, never received a response or acknowledgement.

The complainants had spoken to the survivors and then emailed NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma.

According to the complaint, it was clearly stated that on May 4, two women from a village in Kangpokpi district were “disrobed, paraded naked, beaten and then encircled by a marauding Meitei mob and raped in public”, reported The News Minute.

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In the letter, they made an “earnest appeal” to the NCW to “urgently assess the disproportionate victimization of Kuki-Zomi indigenous tribal women through brutal and inhumane acts of sexual violence, including rape, kidnapping, public lynching, immolation and murder”.

It also stated other instances of rape, sexual assault and murder being used “as a weapon of conflict” against Kuki-Zo women, noting there was “numbing silence and underreporting” of the same.

“Witness accounts reveal the most harrowing and distressing details, including the incrimination of Meitei women vigilantes as enablers and perpetrators of gender-based violence. Victims and survivors allege that Meitei women vigilantes have actively participated in the attacks and assaults on Kuki-Zomi women and children,” the complaint alleged.

“Several Kuki-Zomi women have been forced to flee for their lives during advanced stages of pregnancy or while recuperating from C-section surgeries. Some have given birth in ad hoc refugee camps…”, it said.

The complaint alleged that the female students of a university were on May 3, “forced out of their hostels, verbally harassed and abused by the mob”. One student allegedly heard the mob shouting “kill Kuki women” while she hid in the bathroom. The complaint also said that “Assam Rifles rescued” the students at 3.15 am.

On May 4, a 22-year-old student of a nursing institute in the state was “harassed and assaulted by a Meitei mob of about 40 people. Rape her! Torture her! Cut her into pieces!’ Meitei women shouted as the attackers pummelled [name], knocking out her front teeth”, the report said.

On May 5, two women in their twenties were “raped and murdered” after “Meitei miscreants gagged, dragged and confined the women in a closed room for two hours. On May 6, a 45-year-old widow was “brutally butchered, shot and burned by Meitei mobs”, the complaint further said, reported The News Minute.

Also Read:Congress criticizes PM Modi’s neglect towards brutal violence in Manipur

The complaint also alleged that a 15-year-old girl had been kidnapped and a medical examination report “confirmed assault and rape”.

The complaint said these examples underlined the “serious gravity of gender-based violence, appalling levels of womens’ rights violations, and continued threats to the physical safety and psychological well-being of Kuki-Zomi women”.

“Therefore, we humbly and urgently request you to take suo motu cognizance of the matter and if possible, constitute an Inquiry Committee. We have faith in the Constitution of India and the enormous power that the National Commission for Women exercises to create a just world where the rights of all Indian women are respected, realised, and valued, even in times of conflict and war”, it said.

The letter also urged the NCW to consider extending support to the victims and survivors in the form of crisis counselling and trauma therapy. The complainants received no response or any form of acknowledgement from the NCW.

Nearly a month later, the video of one of the instances they wrote about went viral on social media. Only then did the NCW tweet its response.

“They didn’t even acknowledge the complaint,” one of the complainants said. “Everything was explicitly mentioned as the other complainant has spoken to the survivors and victims of sexual assaults in the conflict. We have clearly mentioned about the incident where women were paraded naked and raped.”

At that point, the complainant said she wasn’t aware that the video of the incident existed. “But regardless of that, we have mentioned in the letter that there are evidence of sexual violence and crime happening against Kuki-Zo women,” she said.

“I had also attached a bunch of news articles so that NCW would know and at least would be convinced that I am not making up stuff. This incident along with other incidents was clearly mentioned as a bullet point”, she added.

After the viral video surfaced, Prime Minister Modi issued his first statement on the Manipur violence. The Supreme Court said that it would take action if the government did not while the National Commission of Women (NCW) took suo motu cognisance of the case.

Also Read:Massive protest rally in Manipur over Video of tribal women's public humiliation