Shot-circuited !

Maitreyee Boruah, TNN | Feb 12, 2012, 06.35AM IST :

Who would have thought patriarchy could come in the way of the rehabilitation of female drug users? In Manipur, it does

Esther lives in Churachandpur , around 65 km from Imphal, the capital of Manipur . She is what is referred to, in technical parlance , as a reformed female injecting drug user (FIDU). Esther gave up a life of injecting and snorting drugs and has come back from the brink - much wiser and sober, and not just on the ill-effects of a dangerous life. Her eyes, she says, also opened up to the blatantly different ways in which society treats male and female drug users.

"I thought we were all offenders in the eyes of society. But to our surprise, boys who used to inject drugs could fall back on their families. When girls tried doing the same, all they found was rejection, with families disowning them," she says.

Due to its proximity to Myanmar - part of the infamous golden triangle , the main illicit opium producing area - Manipur's population has for long, grappled with drug abuse.The most commonly used drugs in the state are opioids like heroin (or No.4, as it is commonly known), codein and spasmo proxyvon (SP). With drug trafficking becoming active from early 1980s , the epidemic of HIV/AIDS also spread rapidly in Manipur, as drug users shared needles and syringes.

The reformed FIDUs are also benefiting through this exercise. Acknowledging the need for them to become self-sufficient , NGOs have been giving them training in yoga and meditation besides equipping them with vocational skills to earn their livelihood. One of the oldest voluntary organizations in the state, Social Awareness Service Organisation (SASO) has started a short stay home - the first of its kind in Imphal - where FIDUs can stay for six months. It also helps them get reunited with their families.

Esther who has spent time at the short stay home says that it helped her regain her confidence to start life afresh. "Today, I run a grocery shop and am reunited with my family. I am confident that life ahead will be positive for me."