Women's Movement in Manipur Against Alcoholism and Human Rights Violation

Women in Manipur are active in the spheres of politics, social and economic. Whenever there is any crisis, particularly Meitei (plain dweller) womenfolk of Manipur come forward for quick and precise resolution. The period from the 1960s to the 1990s was the worst period for women in Manipur. This was the period were almost all the male folk were indulging in alcoholism and drug abuse. The movement of Nisha Band was precisely to fight against the alcohol addiction of Manipur menfolk. Women folk of every locality or leikai began to organise a group that generally comprises elder women folk to curb the sale, transportation and consumption of alcohol. It further covered the issue of drug abuse by the youngsters and domestic violence against women. The movement has enabled to successfully curbed the menace of alcoholism and has evolved into the Meira Paibi, which later became a strong force of the third eye of democracy in Manipur. The Nisha Band movement was inspired by the women’s role in resolving the food grain scarcity crisis in Manipur and successfully fighting against British rule. The period 1970s was a phase of political turmoil in Manipur as the insurgency movement that had once been lost resurfaced again. Following this, the security forces began to crack down with harsh force, leading to a persistent pattern of human rights violations. Once Nisha Band was literally changed to Meira Paibi, or the women torchbearer, coming forward to protect the human rights violations under the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSP) 1958. India has its own mechanisms, like the law court and the National Human Rights Commission, to deal with human rights violations. Most of the agencies to protect the rights of citizens were almost paralysed in Manipur with the existence of AFSPA. It was the women's movement that came forward and successfully safeguarded human rights in Manipur.