No response received from authorities on Manipur video, says women's panel chairperson

National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson Rekha Sharma revealed on July 21  that she had reached out thrice in the last three months to authorities in Manipur regarding incidents of violence against women, but received no response from them. Her statement came in response to media reports claiming that the NCW had received a complaint about the appalling incident of two women being paraded naked in the ethnic violence-hit northeastern state on May 4, but had not taken any action until the video surfaced on July 19.

Sharma refuted receiving any report of the incident earlier and asserted that she took suo motu cognisance of it only after the video went viral. She sought an explanation from authorities on the matter and shared the letters she had sent to them concerning other women's issues.

"We had to verify the authenticity, and also the complaints were not from Manipur, some were not even from India. We reached out to authorities but no response was received from them, but then we took suo motu cognisance when the video (of women being paraded naked) went viral yesterday," Sharma stated.

The letters addressed to the authorities in Manipur were dated May 18, May 29, and June 19, showing the NCW's proactive approach in addressing women's issues.

The horrifying 26-second video, which captured the ordeal of two tribal women being humiliated and paraded naked by a group of men from a rival community, sparked outrage across the nation. It surfaced on July 19 after the internet ban was lifted, intensifying tension in the hills of Manipur.

In the wake of the May 3 ethnic violence, triggered by a 'Tribal Solidarity March' in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, more than 160 lives have been lost, and several others have been injured. Manipur's population consists of about 53 percent Meiteis, mainly residing in the Imphal Valley, and 40 percent tribals, including Nagas and Kukis, primarily residing in the hill districts.