By Dr. Syed Ahmed, TwoCircles.net,
Imphal: United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women (UNSRVAW), Rashida Manjoo, held a consultative meeting with the representatives of civil society organizations, NGOs working against violence on women and families of woman victims of crime at Hotel Classic at Imphal on April 28, 2013.
The meeting was attended by delegates from various States of North-East India. Briefing the media, Convenor of Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights in Manipur and the UN (CSCHR), Dr. L. Debabrata Roy said that the meeting was attended by around 200 delegates, including the family members of victims of violence from various parts of North-Eastern India and West Bengal. Representatives of international bodies and national-level NGOs, namely the International Committee on the Red Cross (ICRC) and Child Rights & You (CRY) also attended the meeting. He further said that 40 separate depositions were made in the meeting, which including testimonies from women who have faced forced evictions, sustained community and domestic violence and also sharing from the families of victims of state abetted violence. The meeting organized here at Imphal was the largest such consultation convened by the UNSRVAW during the current mission of the UN Rapporteur to India, Roy added.
The consultative meeting at Hotel Classic at Imphal
The meeting was moderated by Secretary of the National Alliance of Women (NAWO), Jarjum Ete, and former Chairperson of Arunachal Pradesh State Women’s Commission.
Highlighting the mandate and purpose of her visit to India, Rashida Manjoo stated, “The death of a woman is not a new act, but the ultimate act in the continuum of violence in the life of the woman.”
Among others, Rashida Manjoo listened to the factual report of the brutal rape and killing of Thangjam Manorama by Indian Para-military personnel in 2004 given by her mother. Rashida Manjoo broke down in tears during the course of the narration.
Executive Director of Human Rights Alert, Babloo Loitongbam addressed the cause of Irom Chanu Sharmila, who has been on fast for the last 13 years demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA). He further informed Rashida Manjoo that many UN treaty body mechanisms and other Special Rapporteurs have called for the repeal of the draconian act. The Justice Verma Commission had also called for its repeal and accountability of the Indian armed forces personnel involved in rape and sexual assaults, however these recommendations were ignored by the Indian Government when it introduced the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2012 in the Parliament, Loitongbam added.
Sharmila, who could not meet the UN Rapporteur, submitted a hand-written letter to Rashida Manjoo. Loitongbam said that the UN Security Officer accompanying the UNSRAW had made attempts to meet Irom Sharmila during her stay, but the permission to meet her did not materialize.
Interaction session
After listening to the statements of the delegates, Rashida Manjoo said that she will be placing a report on her findings. In her closing remarks, Rashida Manjoo said that it was not her mandate to comment on the depositions made before her, and that her report will be based on facts. She also expressed that her opinions and conclusions as an independent expert were hers alone, that these would not be changed or shaped by any influence, whether from government or any others.
The CSCHR submitted an all-inclusive memorandum to Rashida Manjoo. The memorandum, titled “Manipur: Perils of War and Womanhood” gives a detailed information on various forms of violence against women in Manipur and several recommendations.
Rashida Manjoo paid two-day visit to Imphal on the invitation of CSCHR. She arrived at Imphal on April 27.
UNSRVAW is going to hold a national press conference on May 1, 2013 at New Delhi.