KOHIMA— Women from northeastern states have expressed shock, sadness and concern over the May 4 incident in Manipur where two women were paraded naked and sexually assaulted by a mob.
The incident came to light after a video of the two women being dragged by the mob surfaced on social media platforms on Wednesday, shocking the entire nation and beyond.
"It's so shocking and barbaric,” a teacher from Manipur, who came across the video through news clippings on a channel, told Eastern Mirror on Thursday.
She condemned the incident and insisted that the perpetrators be given befitting punishment to prevent such horrors in the future. "Where is humanity? I am speechless!" she exclaimed.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]Sharing her sympathies with the parents of the victims, she also said she was praying for divine intervention in Manipur.
“Having watched the video, we are overwhelmed with fear, and it’s truly unimaginable how much excruciating suffering the victims must have endured at the hands of the goons,” she remarked.
Reflecting on the incident, she expressed bewilderment over the obscurity surrounding such cases.
She also blamed the state government for failing to check the violence and unrest in the state.
“The fact that individuals could be publicly humiliated, stripped naked, and taken to an open field by these groups raises serious questions. How could such a heinous act go unnoticed?” she added.
The teacher emphasised the urgent need to punish the culprits responsible for such heinous acts.
A government employee from Mizoram expressed shock over the incident and said such violence was uncommon in the Northeast.
She recalled feeling a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood among the Northeasterners in mainland India but was disheartened to witness such brutal acts in her own region.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1] [bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]Despite community-related issues, she said ‘There is a belief that female members are very safe in the Northeast, but having seen the incident on my phone, I was shocked.’
She said the incident has shattered the perception that women are safe in the region, leaving them feeling vulnerable and unsafe.
She said that they use to hear often that children and women are never targeted even during times of war in the Northeast. “But now I feel very sad that we are not even being spared in times of any crisis,” she said.
According to the woman, religious differences often lead to a feeling of separation and alienation among ethnic groups.
She suggested the creation of separate administrations in regions and areas where clashes persist due to religious divide
Recalling her schooling days in Manipur, the woman said she had witnessed how certain communities and groups looked down upon other communities as “inferior beings.”
In light of religious institutions being targeted and burned down, she pointed out that the prevailing religious differences in the country are having a detrimental impact on people's minds.
"Sometimes, these differences can erode the very essence of humanity. These occurrences foster the belief that there has always been a sense of separation among ethnic groups," she observed.
Another woman, a government employee from Nagaland, expressed shame and dismay over the prevailing situation in the region.
“I am still in a state of shock, and can't comprehend how inhumanely low some people have stooped,” she commented.
“I am ashamed being a Northeasterner; I am ashamed that these incidents are happening right at our doorstep and we fail to protect our own sisters and are so helpless about it,” she said.
“Now it is happening in Manipur, it could happen anywhere to any of us if we fail to acknowledge the fact that humanity will cease to exist without peace within and without,” she added.
Women from Meghalaya and Sikkim have also expressed anguish, sadness and disbelief over the violence perpetrated against women and called for a restoration of humanity and an end to such barbaric acts.
“It's horrible! No human being has to go through this,” said a woman from Meghalaya.
“As a woman from Meghalaya I feel we are not safe to go out even in our very own Northeast,” she said and added, “humanity should be restored while such kinds of barbaric acts should stop once and for all.”
An assistant professor of a government college in Sikkim appealed for the central government’s intervention in Manipur to restore justice and peace in the state.