Peeling away the layers of social hypocrisy : Of champions and battered lot
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 27, 2012 -

Meira paibi movement-an ode to women activism;
Nupi Lan-a statement of women coming to the fore on issues which confronted the land at one point of time and which has come to symbolise the innate strength of the women of Manipur;
nude protest in front of Kangla where the Assam Rifles was housed then in 2004-stuff that revolutions are made of;
Ima keithel - a market place run and managed solely by women folk, underlining the important role that women play in the economic activities of the land and the people;
Irom Chanu Sharmila-the face which has moved the hearts of thousands, if not millions, and has gone on to take the issue of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act to the global stage;
Mary Kom and L Sarita-world beaters, the latest feathers in the cap being the gold winning feats at the Asian Boxing Championship.

Move the lens to a wider field and in every National Games it is the women who bring back the lion's share of the medals to the State and if Manipur is today known as the 'Sports Power House' in the country, the credit should go to the womenfolk.

All these points tell the story of how the women of Manipur have been at the forefront on many issues, whether it be a movement against drugs and alcoholism, human rights, political protests, social movements, economic activities and while these have been told to the international community, it has become more and more clear that these awe inspiring tales have been used to cloak the harsh reality under which women have had to survive in this land.

The term Ima has a special connotation that goes beyond the mere description of the biological relation that a woman shares with her son and is extolled on the public platform, but today hundreds if not thousands of women continue to be a battered lot within the confines of their homes.

Wife beating and domestic violence is a reality and the sooner this is acknowledged as one of the social ills plaguing the society the better it would be for all of us. In fact in every sphere of life, women continue to be at the receiving end of the brutalities of the menfolk and what makes things more galling is the veil of social hypocrisy under which these bestial acts are carried out.

The gang rape of a woman near Keinou Awang Leikai in Bishnupur district on March 22 has predictably triggered a wave of protest and in a welcome departure from the earlier precedents, Bishnupur police did manage to round up four suspects in no time.

The cops seem to have done their job and while the spontaneous protests from the people are along expected lines and indicate where society as a whole stands on such issues, there is however the need for the people to peel away the layers of double standards and social hypocrisy to come anywhere near 'truly and sincerely' deploring such acts.

As long as women continue to be viewed as punching bags, as long as women are commodified, as long as society continue to maintain a judgemental stance on each and every conduct and movement of women, crimes against women will continue.

The public exaltation of women need to be extended into the realm of the private, into the four walls of each and every family and only then will the respect bestowed on women via the prism of the meira paibi movement or the Nupi Lan have any meaning.

Today Manipur stands as one in raising a toast to the world beating performances put up by Mary Kom and L Sarita but all the public demonstration of adulation and adoration will be rendered shallow and meaningless if the same society which stands up to acknowledge the feats of these two women champions, continue to believe that women in general are there to be kicked around.

The latest rape case is an example of a mindset instilled from a young age by society as a whole that women are lesser beings. It is this social hypocrisy that needs to be dealt with for rapists are not born. They are shaped and influenced by society, especially in their approach and treatment towards the womenfolk.

A rape is not just about satisfying the lust of the rapist but is also some sort of an act where men demonstrate their power over women, not only physically but psychologically too.