Women in conflict-ridden Nagaland

— Dikshita Bhuyan Baruah
Nagaland, a repository of incredible beauty and natural resources, rich culture, tradition and unique value system has long been involved in a major political dead-lock causing great concern for the country. With numerous problems like the prolonged insurgency, terrorism political factionalism, ethnic tension, secessionist demands. subversive activities, border disputes, the hilly-State has at present come to be regarded as the most conflict-ridden area in the Norh East.The problem of growing insurgency has been aggravated by the perennial internecine clashes among the ethnic groups for gaining and maintaining supremacy. Unfortunately, years of violence have made Nagaland a hot bed of militancy–village is pitted against village, tribe against tribe, tribal against non-tribal and what not? Now the staccato of sophisticated weaponry is echoed in the hill covered Nagaland instead of sweet songs of birds. To make the situation worse still, there is a perpetual fear in the minds of Naga people many of whom suffer from distress and disorientation resulting from conflicting pressures and uncertainty about future goals.In such a low intensity war like situation, the women folk of Nagaland feel more uncomfortable than the men, since, in times of conflicts and confrontations they, more often than not, fall easy victims to voilence and abuse .The loss that women face during conflict is not just emotional or physical in terms of losing a loved one but it affects the economic and social spheres adversely. The vulnerability of women multiplies hundred folds in such a hard time. How do the women feel after the death of their husbands or children in struggle ? Who will hear their heart-burning cries ? What else do they want to survive after trauma ? Why are they unable to live a normal life after their ‘honour’ is stained ? Only the victims can feel the pang of agony and distress too deep to be easily healed.Sadly enough, almost all the Naga families have a story of personal loss, bereavement of physical and emotional trauma. Each Naga woman has to cope with the stern realities of daily life since they are responsible as mother of children, the hurt and the wounded who are innocent victims not of their creation. They are the wives of injured, disabled or missing men, the soldiers of warring factions and the State. They are assaulted, beaten, humiliated, raped and even murdered during conflicts. They suffer as civilians with their freedom curtailed and shackled.The deployment of armed forces to tackle insurgency has enhanced the fear of loss of security of the Naga people in genearal and the women in particular. During conflicts, women are forced to quit their familiar sourrounding and stay somewhere quite unfamiliar, uncertain and insecure. This dislocation from own tribe, communities and cultural mooring is not an insignificant matter of consideration. The women face violence and humiliation first from the “other”, the enemy ,then as objects of shame in their homes and communities. There is a tendency of terming outside violence as illegitimate but within home, what?Broadly speaking,today, all over the world sustained violence and crime I have shattered security of women. In Nagaland too, ravaged by continuous bloody conflicts, women’s mobility has been severely restricted. Prolonged voilence and struggle affect women psycho-physically. With presence of the armed forces in large number outrage of modesty is on the rise. The incidence of HIV-AIDS, drug abuse, alcohol abuse increases in such a long standing conflicting situation. In the midst of rapid changes in Nagaland’s social scenario, some evil social elements like drug peddling, smuggling, corruption, etc are creeping in to the society and eating it into the vitals.As a result of such unholy changes, the Naga women are safe neither at home nor outside. There has been a visible increase in crime, especially crimes against women. In this context, Daisy Mezuler, secretary, Social Wellfare Advisory Board of Nagaland makes a singnificant comment:“Our society is going through a transition period which is too fast for us. In the whole process women are caught in the web. Atrocities against women are growing and we live in extreme tension and pressure everyday. There is a kind of fear psychosis in every one of us. All of us are victims in one way or another.”It deserves to be mentioned that in the patriarchal Naga society, the status of women needs to speak much about their sense of self, values and role in the society .While performing multi- roles as a wife, mother, child bearer, food producer and house hold manager, women are the first to suffer when sustainable livelihoods are imbalanced. Nurturing a home involves wisdom, passion and honesty. But, unfortunately,in spite of her large share in the maintenance of the family, mother’s status is not appreciated and recognised. For instance, according to customary law, Naga women who toil at home and in the field cannot inherit ancestral property. In case, if a woman is the lone child, the property goes to the nearest among the clan’s member. Indeed women in the male-dominated Naga society remain in the background, never worthy of notice, even though they render valuable services unostentatiously. However women in the new generation need a whiff of change and feel that customary tribal law should be modified to include the right of women for sake of a clear perception of self in the society.In spite of so much hardship, the Naga women have rendered yeo-man’s service in restoring peace in the strife-torn State. Today, the apex organisation like Naga Mothers’Association,in collaboration with the other like-minded women’s organisations has been playing an outstanding role towards ushering a new era of peace and prosperity. The main objectives of the NMA are to serve as a channel of communication for Naga women’s mutual interest and welfare, to eradiate social evil and exploitation, to create an ambience of peaceful co-existence between different groups of the Naga society and to maintain self identity, self-reliance and honesty,Credibly, the NMA has established the first drug de-addiction and rehabilitation centre in the state and an AIDS hospital at Kohima. With its message ‘shed no more blood’ the NMA has collaborated with other Naga organisations to work for a reduction in violence and organised rallies and appeals to stop the blood bath. In recent years, the representative of NMA has met NSCN factions to discuss the unity and integrity. The NMA has also been participating in meeting and conferences with the Naga Students’ Federation, Naga HoHo and such other like-minded organisation to strengthen the peace process.All these activities, performed by the Naga Mothers’ Association, with a missionary zeal,may be treated as something unique and exceptional in the present day Indian society . Hopefully, we look forward to the earnest effort of these Naga women towards peace making which will ensures well-being, security, solidarity and justice. This bold initiative on the part of the Naga women, if encouraged and appreciated in the right earnest, may help build a better Naga society, imbued with self- pride and self-dependence even though a wave of political turmoil has penetrated into Nagaland.(The writer teaches English in Madhabdev College, Lakhimpur). source: assam tribune editorial