NEW DELHI/IMPHAL: In a stern stance against grave atrocities committed against women in Manipur, the Supreme Court, on August 11, condemned the use of sexual violence by mobs as a tool of subjugation, asserting that the state has a duty to curb such acts.
The apex court further directed its attention towards the three-member committee, comprised of retired judges, which it had constituted and tasked it to investigate the series of violent incidents perpetrated against women in Manipur, commencing from May 4.
Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, presiding over the bench, asserted that in times of sectarian strife, sexual violence is employed as a sinister tool to demonstrate dominance over the targeted community, to which the victims or survivors belong.
The court highlighted the chilling reality that mobs often exploit women for various reasons, one of which is the perceived impunity within a larger group.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Meitei women took to the streets across five districts of Imphal Valley on Friday and demonstrated sit-in protests demanding justice for a 37-year-old woman who was allegedly gang-raped in Churachandpur during the violence that broke out in the state on May 3.
The protest, championed by Meira Paibi, a collective of Meitei women, was aimed at highlighting the “unspeakable crimes against women, men, and women by armed militants and infiltrators from Myanmar.”
To voice their condemnation and demand justice, sit-in protests were held across key locations in Imphal West and Imphal East districts including Keisampat, Uripok, Singjamei, Kongba, and Khurai.
Earlier on August 9, a 37-year-old married woman hailing from Churachandpur district has lodged an FIR against a group of tribal men for allegedly gang-raping her during her desperate bid for safety, on August 9.
According to the victim, the disturbing incident occurred at Khumujamba Meitei Leikai in Churachandpur district on May 3, and the victim has identified the perpetrators as “unidentified Kuki men”.
