Manipur violence: DCW chief meets families of women parading naked, says ‘their tears won’t let me sleep’

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

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

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

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Swati Maliwal said in a tweet, “Met the families of the daughters who were brutalized in Manipur… Their tears won’t let me sleep for long. Till now no one has come to meet them.”

Met the family of the victim daughter of Mocke’s vandalism…These kids won’t let you sleep for days. Haven’t met anyone yet. pic.twitter.com/cohdZRAnQy– Swati Maliwal (@SmatiJayHind) 25 July 2023

I met the families of the two daughters of the teachers who were brutalised. A girl’s husband protected the country’s border by meeting the army. He told me that till now there is no meeting with him, I am the first one with his selection. Met the mother of the other girl as well. When I’m here… pic.twitter.com/2YwNNqR5Uh– Swati Maliwal (@SmatiJayHind) 25 July 2023

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

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

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

She said, “The viral video shook me to the core and I wanted to meet the survivors at all costs. I was told by the locals that it is very difficult to travel to Churachandpur to meet the families of the survivors. Still, I decided to go there without any security amidst heavy firing. Somehow, I managed to meet them.”

He alleged that the survivors of the violence had to go through the worst hell and was pained to learn that neither the Chief Minister nor any government official met them.

“The violence in Manipur is deeply disturbing and wherever I go, there are mind-numbing horror stories. People have lost their homes and near and dear ones and the government has completely failed to protect them. I think the Center should immediately seek the resignation of the Manipur chief minister,” she said.

He reiterated his 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.

Over 160 people have lost their lives and many have been injured since caste violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a ‘tribal solidarity march’ was held in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.