Manipur Violence: DCW Chief Meets Families Of Women Paraded Naked, Says 'Their Tears Won't Let Me Sleep'

"Till now no one has come to meet them," Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal said after meeting the families of the two women who were paraded naked in Manipur.

DCW Chief Swati Maliwal Meets Families Of Women Paraded Naked In Manipur

New Delhi: Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief on Tuesday met the families of the two women who were paraded naked in Manipur and said that they are yet to receive any counseling or compensation from the state and are in deep trauma. Maliwal, who is on a tour of the violence-hit northeastern state, also travelled to Churachandpur, Moirang and Imphal districts and visited relief camps and interacted with the survivors of violence.

Maliwal met the mother and husband of the two victims who had been paraded naked, molested and one of them was reportedly gang-raped. The mother of the woman who was gang-raped also lost her husband and son who were trying to save the victim from the sexual assault, the DCW said in a statement.

The husband of the woman, who was paraded naked and molested, had fought for the country in the Kargil war, the statement added.

"Met the family of the daughters who were victims of brutality in Manipur… Their tears would not let me sleep for a long time. Till now no one has come to meet them," Swati Maliwal said in a tweet.

मणिपुर की बर्बरता की पीड़ित बेटियों के परिवार से मिली… इनके ये आंसू बहुत दिन तक सोने नहीं देंगे। अब तक इनसे कोई मिलने तक नहीं आया। pic.twitter.com/cohdZRAnQy

— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) July 25, 2023

मणिपुर की जिन दो बेटियों के साथ बर्बरता की गई मैं उनके परिवारों से मिली। एक लड़की के पति ने फौजी रहते हुए देश की सीमाओं की रक्षा करी। उन्होंने मुझे बोला कि अब तक उनसे मिलने तक कोई नहीं आया है, मैं उनके पास पहुँचने वाली पहली हूँ। दूसरी लड़की की माँ से भी मुलाक़ात हुई। जब मैं यहाँ… pic.twitter.com/2YwNNqR5Uh

— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) July 25, 2023

Maliwal also interacted with other women in the state affected by violence. At the Churachandpur relief camp, she met a 70-year-old woman hailing from Langchink village whose only son was killed in the violence.

The DCW chief also met a 34-year-old woman who had just delivered a girl in Imphal when a mob surrounded her. Her husband and brother-in-law were killed and she somehow managed to escape with the baby.

Talking about her visit, Maliwal alleged she did not receive any support from the government to enter Manipur and went there at great personal risk.

"The viral video shook me to the core and I wanted to meet the survivors at all cost. I was informed by locals that it is very difficult to travel Churachandpur to meet the families of the survivors. Yet I decided to go there without any security amidst heavy firing. Somehow, I managed to meet them," she said.

The survivors of the violence went through the worst hell imaginable and it is deeply distressing to know that neither the chief minister nor any government functionary has met them, she alleged.

"The violence in Manipur is extremely troubling and everywhere I am going, there are horror stories that are mind-numbing. People have lost their homes and loved ones and the government has completely failed in protecting them. I think that the Centre should urgently seek the resignation of the Manipur chief minister," she said.

She reiterated her demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should visit Manipur along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani.

More than 160 people have lost their lives and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.