Manipur women parade naked Updates: Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal today (July 22) made serious allegations against the Manipur government. They claimed that despite initially inviting them to come on Sunday, the Manipur government suddenly revoked their permission to meet two women from the Kuki-Zomi community who had been stripped, paraded and sexually assaulted.
Expressing her outrage, Maliwal said on Twitter, “After giving me the green signal to go to Manipur, they have now done a U-turn and suddenly refused to allow me to meet the survivors and extend support to them. This is both shocking and absurd. Why should meeting with survivors of sexual violence be hindered? I had already made travel arrangements after discussing with him about the trip. Why are they trying to interrupt me???”
Along with his tweet, he also shared the email response he received from an official representing the Manipur government.
Protest at Jantar Mantar:
Earlier, on Saturday, several people from the Kuki community led a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, demanding a separate administration to end violence and restore peace in the restive northeastern state of Manipur.
Joining the movement, activists of the All India Students’ Association and Revolutionary Youth Organization also gathered at Jantar Mantar to protest, carrying placards and banners with powerful messages such as “CM Biren Singh must resign” and “End violence in Manipur”.
During the protest, they strongly demanded strict action against those responsible for the reprehensible act of stripping two women and parading them naked, which was captured in a video that surfaced on May 4.
Meanwhile, the Manipur Police on Saturday claimed to have arrested one more accused who is a juvenile, taking the total number of arrests in the Manipur women harassment case to six. Police said that the sixth accused was arrested from Thoubal district on Saturday afternoon.
(with inputs from agencies)
Read also: Manipur violence: Sixth accused arrested for parading naked women amid widespread outrage