MOKOKCHUNG — The
apex body of Ao women, Watsu Mungdang, organised a peaceful protest rally in
Mokokchung today to condemn defamatory posts targeting Ao women and Padma
Bhushan Dr. SC Jamir on the “Patriotic Nagas” Facebook page.
The rally, which began at the Ao Senden office and proceeded
to the deputy commissioner's office, culminated in the submission of a
memorandum to the governor demanding action against those responsible. The
memorandum highlighted the derogatory nature of the posts, stating that they
tarnished the modesty of Ao women and defamed Dr. Jamir.
While complaints and FIRs have been filed at Mokokchung
Police Station and Kohima Cyber Crime Police Station, the Watsu Mungdang
expressed frustration at the lack of progress in identifying and prosecuting
the perpetrators. The organisation urged the governor to intervene and ensure
justice is served, emphasising the need to hold the administrators of the
“Patriotic Nagas” page accountable.
Watsu Mungdang president S Arenla Longkumer addressed
participants before the rally, noting that Ao women across Nagaland, India, and
even internationally, were showing solidarity.
Ao Senden president Marsanen Imsong said the protest was a
fight for identity and cultural inheritance. Highlighting the Ao tribe’s
contributions to the Naga nationalist movement, he condemned the Facebook
page’s actions as “anti-Naga rather than patriotic.”
The Ao community will not tolerate attacks on its dignity
and is determined to seek justice and protect its cultural and moral values, he
asserted. The memorandum submitted by the Watsu Mungdang should be understood
as a memorandum written by the Ao community as a whole, he added.
Further acknowledging the support received from
organisations including the Central Nagaland Tribes Council (CNTC) and Central
Nagaland Women Association (CNWA), he warned that “the Ao community will not
forgive when its tribe’s modesty and dignity is defamed.”
