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8/8/2019 Guwahati Report

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Second Consultative Conclave of Women from Northeast India

Northeast India Women Initiative for Peace : A framework for action for democracy,

human rights, economic justice and conflict prevention in Indias Northeast region

Manipur Women Gun Survivor Network and Control Arms Foundation of India in collaboration with

North Eastern Social Research Centre (NESRC) Guwahati, Assam

7August, 2010, Conference Room 4I3, Bosco Reach Out, Bholanath Mandir Lane, B K Kakoti Road,

Ulubari, Guwahati, Assam.

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Report

On 7th August 2010, Control Arms Foundation of India in association with Manipur Women Gun

Survivor Network and the North Eastern Social Research Centre (NEWSRC) conducted the second

consultative conclave of the Northeast India Women Intiative for Peace. It was organized as a framework

for action for democracy, human rights, economic justice and conflict prevention in Indias Northeast

region.

The conference was held in the capital city of Assam, Guwahati and was attended by about 20

personalities from different parts of the Northeast, all of whom share a vested interest in bringing peace

to the region. This conference is the antecedent of a meeting on 13 th June 2009 at the India International

Center which was a conclave of women from Northeast India who are based in Delhi.

Objective of the conference:

To educate women in the Northeast about the issues of war, conflict and peace

To look at measures to bring peace and justice in the region through a greater comprehension of

the political economy of militarism

To understand the internationally known United Nations Resolutions on women and peace-

building such as United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820.

To examine all local,national and international plans that have sought to end violence against

women and see how northeastern women can use this knowledge and empower themselves

To draw a blue print for women in Northeast India to conceive an action plan for rebuilding

peace, providing justice and political rights in a society shattered by years of conflict.

List of participants:

1. Mrs Khesheli Chishi: Convener, Indigenous Womens Forum for Northeast India (IWFNEI)2. Mr Subir Bhaumik: BBCs Bureau Chief for East and Northeast India and the border regions

of Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal


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3. Dr. Gita Bharali: Director of research at the North East Social Research Centre in Guwahati,Assam

4. Mrs. Lourembam Nganbi: President Apunba Nupi Lup (ANUL), Vice-President ApunbaManipur Kanba Ima Lup (AMKIL) and Secretary of External Affairs of United Committee of

Manipur

5. Dr. Rakhee Kalita: Associate professor in the Department of English in Cotton College,Guwahati, Assam.6. Dr. Nani Mahanta: Associate professor in the Department of Political Science in Gauhati

University, Guwahati, Assam

7. Ms. Anuradha Dutta: former professor of peace studies at Omeo Kumar Das Institute ofSocial, Guwahati, Assam

8. Ms. Nonibala Narengbam: Secretary at the Integrated Rural Development Organization atWangjing, Thoubal District in Manipur

9. Ms Reena Mutum: Coordinator of Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network in Imphal,Manipur

10. Ms. Sreekala MG: Executive Director at North East Network (NEN)11. Ms Sumshot Kullar: Peace and Conflict Resolution in Chandel, Manipur12. Ms. Athukrwi Jamati: Working with All Twipra Indigenous & Minority Association

(ATIMA) in Tripura

13. Ms Debasmita Ghose: Advocate of Human Rights Law Network in Guwahati, Assam14. Miss Elizabeth Imti: Lecturer, Fazil Ali College in Mokokchung, Nagaland

Proceedings of the Conference

Conclave Session 1: Introduction

The first session of the Second Consultative Conclave of Women from the North East began with an

enthusiastic welcome from Dr. Gita Bharali, the director of the Research North East Social Research

Centre based in Guwahati, Assam. She expressed a warm welcome as well as a hope for solidarity

amongst all those who were present at the conference. She explained that many groups in the past had

developed tools and action plans to confront the insurgency in the region and that this initiative was an

example of such collective effort. A following introduction to the conference was provided by Ms.

Binalakshmi Nepram, the founder of the Manipur Women Gun-Survivor Network and the Secretary-

General of the Control Arms Foundation of India. Ms. Nepram expressed her gratitude for all those who

had arrived and explained her personal motivations behind her work and her determination to succeed

to bring peace in the North East of India, especially in her home state Manipur.

The inaugural address was presented by Mr Subir Bhaumik, the BBC Correspondent for the East and

Northeast of India and the border regions of Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. He spoke on

The need for women in the North East to take initiatives in bringing Peace. His main argument was

that women need to come together to form a large movement that would lead to a standing as a social

force which would accommodate a greater space in peace decisions. An organization such as the Naga

Mothers Association women is needed for greater institutional representation. He stated that

Peacemaking does not end with an accord, if accords arent properly implemented, then they arent


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effective and ceasefires are irrelevant. In all, a greater representation of women in monitoring bodies

was essential because the lack of implementation of accords affects women the most.

Mrs Khesheli Chishi, the Convener for Indigenous Womens Forum for Northeast India (IWFNEI)

finished the beginning session of the conference with a talk on From village to negotiating table: Women

taking lead and making policy changes for Peace. She described the role of rural women in the NorthEast as those who suffer the most bearing the brunt of gun violence. The women are expected to be the

peacemakers when the men create the conflict and this is an example of a gross lack of responsibility. The

injustice is especially played out when the woman has been left widowed and alone, and being illiterate

and not valued as much as a man, is unable to sustain herself and her children. Therefore, the women,

having suffered psychologically, emotionally and even economically have created womens organizations

out of compulsion. She concluded with the thought that encouragement will only come from other

women. Yet Peace has to come out from within ourselves, otherwise peace will remain elusive.

Ms. Nepram then closed the first part of the conference with heartening words: that about three or four

people are shot everyday in Manipur but there are also at least three marriages celebrated everyday in

Manipur.

Consultative Conclave Session II: Listening to each other- Stories of Women and War in Northeast

India Region

The second session of the conference was chaired by Ms. Anuradha Dutta, a former professor of peace

studies at Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social, Guwahati, Assam. She opened the floor for Dr. Nani

Mahanta: Associate professor in the Department of Political Science in Gauhati University, Guwahati,

Assam. His topic, Tools of peace making in Indias Northeast, focused on the role and the effect civil

society, the majority of the people, can have in the region. Civil society has the influence to prevent

violent conflict by pressurizing the government to make armed groups come to accord, monitoring the

process and reconstruction and reconciliation. He called for the creation of social capital such as trust

and association between religious and ethnic and other divisions. However, important issues still

remain such as the divide between immigrants and indigenous people, intra-group classes and inter-

group classes, the border disputes between Assam and Meghalaya and Nagaland (the Greater Nagaland

problem), and the sustained dialogue on ethnic homeland issue, which has led to a widespread identity

crisis amongst all individuals.

Dr. Gita Bharali, the Director of research at the North East Social Research Centre in Guwahati, Assam,

gave a presentation on the Impact on Women on Development Induced Displacement and Human

Security in Assam. She first described the fate of rural woman and how it is linked to their economic

independence. Rural Assamese womens livelihood is purely natural resource based and involves animalhusbandry and agriculture. Therefore, when families are displaced, the woman is most vulnerable

because jobs in more urban areas require workers with certain skills and very little women are trained or

even literate. What ensues is that women have a lower status, lower income opportunities, little or with

no property rights. Therefore the position of women in comparison to men leaves them more susceptible

to being affected by violence in their surroundings.


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Ms. Nonibala Narengbam, the Secretary at the Integrated Rural Development Organization at Wangjing,

Thoubal District in Manipur, presented Involving women in Governance - Manipur Conflict and

Women Leadership in Bringing the Needed Peace. After giving an overview of facts on the state of

Manipur, she summed up the reality of women there: The position of women is high (a value based on

tradition) and the roles and responsibilities are determined by traditional norms, religious and customary

practices. This means that not only society dictates how much influence women can have but theythemselves abide by tradition, thus determining their place in the community, under the shade of

patriarchy and the Armed Forces Special Protection Act (AFSPA). Her opinion was that the reconciliation

processed needed to be strengthened through networking and collaboration between non-governmental

organizations, civil society organizations, institutional and individuals. Women needed to have a space in

the institutional structure where they could be involved in policy implementation. Lastly, womens

human rights needed to be defended through the upholding of international law in order to have security

for themselves.

The last speaker of the session was Dr. Rakhee Kalita, an associate professor in the Department of

English in Cotton College, Guwahati, Assam. She began with this statement: the absence of war is not

always peace. Her topic of discussion was Assams Conflict and Finding ways to Solution throughWomens Work, Writing and Activism. She questioned why activism of certain kinds could be found,

women-oriented, in certain places and not everywhere. In Assam, the idea of womens activism began in

the colonial period but now women have broken away to fight for peace. The processes of peace making

and peace building have become complimentary and inseparable. Today, narratives and alternative

voices, including political forums, serve as a vehicle for those expressing their trauma and their

determination to change their lives. Testimonial literature can even be used to seek justice on secret

reports of killings and can become key pointers to demonstrate what is really ailing the state. Graphic

writing has also become important political platform. Dr. Kalita ends her discourse with the hope that by

engaging creatively to work towards peace, one day the state will receive the message of the Northeasts

reality directly.

Consultative Conclave: Session III Taking Charge of Our Lives, Our Rights

The third part of the conference was chaired by Dr. Rakhee Kalita, an associate professor in the

Department of English in Cotton College, Guwahati, Assam.

The first speaker was Mrs. Lourembam Nganbi, President Apunba Nupi Lup (ANUL), Vice-President

Apunba Manipur Kanba Ima Lup (AMKIL) and Secretary of External Affairs of United Committee of

Manipur. She began with a description of the violence that is occurring in her home state Manipur under

the AFSPA. Many youths have been killed and many women have been molested and raped by the

armed forces. She said that there is no government to protect their lives. She spoke about her

participation in a naked protest against the police in the state, at a time when they had arrested a girl,Manorama, under suspicion (without the presence of a female officer) and had raped and murdered her.

The mothers who heard the story were so enraged that they unashamedly challenged the armed forces

because of the cruelty of what had been done to the young girl. After her narrative, a short clip showing

the protest was projected and brought great emotion to everyone in the room.

Ms. Sreekala MG, the Executive Director at the North East Network (NEN). She gave a presentation on

Women and Conflict: Implementing United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325/1820 and


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Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in Indias

Northeast. The CEDAW puts the obligation on part of the state to be responsible for womens rights.

However, there is very little awareness about the resolutions (1325 +, 1820), and so no knowledge about

how it is now globally accepted that there is a certain code of ethics that is applied to those who do not

participate in the insurgencies of the Northeast. Yet, the government of India states that There are no

situations of armed conflict within the territory of India, and hence the Security Council Resolution 1325relating to Women in Armed Conflict is not applicable to India. Therefore the issue of the human rights

of women is neither a priority and requires more mechanisms to enforce them and report such abuses.

Ms. Reena Mutum, the Coordinator of Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network in Imphal, Manipur,

spoke about the Economic Empowerment of Survivors of Gun Violence: Case Study of Manipur Women

Gun Survivors Network. In Manipur, women are considered to be the backbone of the economy. The

largest example of this is the mothers market, the Ima Keith el, which demonstrates the successful

collective Manipuri womens role within society. This form of economic independence has been essential

in these times, as Manipuri has been experiencing an economic slump sharpened by inflation. The

Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network is proud to say that their efforts have succeeded in changing

eighty womens lives and those of their children as well.

Sumshot Kullar, who is concerned with peace and conflict resolution in Chandel, Manipur spoke about

Ethnic MinorityWomen and Peace Building in Manipur. She argued that a democratic space needed to

be created for women to be decision makers in Manipur. However, this could only be achieved with a

common platform which would assimilate all movements and bring together peace initiatives.

Cooperation in terms of networking on regional, national and international levels would also strengthen

peace making processes. Peace education programmes in schools, colleges and communities and the

translation of International Human Rights documents into local languages would increase awareness of

the rights of women. Finally, a media campaign supported by journalists who are advocates for peace

could significantly contribute to the promotion of regional peace and security.

The only representative from Tripura, Ms. Athukrwi Jamati, works with All Twipra Indigenous &

Minority Association (ATIMA) in Tripura. Her topic of concern was the Indigenous Women of Tripuras

Effort for Peace Building. In order to bring out womens activity, she said that it would first be essential

to educate them. The main drawback of Tripura is the neglecting of girls by parents. This has caused

many women across the state to live their lives without an education and thus without awareness or

political or economic consciousness, which is necessary knowledge in order to start the process of peace

building.

Yasmine and Miss Joya(?)gave a basic and informative presentation on Legal Rights of Women in a

Conflict Zone. Apart from the International Bill of Human Rights and the Geneva Convention withAdditional Protocol, women are covered by the Constitution of India. Their Article 14 promotes the right

to equality and Article 15(3) declares that the state has the obligation to make special provisions for

women and children. Under the AFSPA, women have to be searched or arrested only by a female officer,

and this rule has been broken many times before but there has also been a lack of awareness on the part

of women in the Northeast. Knowledge of legal rights are important but it should also be known to those

who inflict violence that there exist globally-agreed upon codes of ethics in war that protect those who do

not partake in the fighting.


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Concluding Session

The last speaker of the conference was Miss Elizabeth Imti: Lecturer, Fazil Ali College in Mokokchung,

Nagaland who offered Stories of Naga Women Taking the Lead towards Peace. The conflict in her

home state, Nagaland, has been enduring for more than sixty years. The society lives under a patriarchalsystem, yet Naga women have had historically strong social roles. After the women came together and

decided to have a ban on alcohol, they burned all the alcohol together. This ban, however, led to the

appearance of drug abuse within Nagaland. Therefore, during late 1970s and 1980s, when social

problems were on the rise, the Naga Mothers Association was founded in 1984, open to any single or

married women. They felt very strongly that women suffer the most and so there should be a common

platform for all to come together and support each other. In fact, these strong and mythical women have

played a critical role in the peace process and ceasefire agreement. They are the ones who value human

life when it comes to conflict and this honoring has given space for the appeal for peace.

Working together to Draft the Second Frame-Work of Action for democracy, human rights, economic

justice and conflict prevention in Indias Northeast:Some resolutions taken

1) The upholding and protection of the Indian Constitution and the recognition of the centralgovernment of the insurgencies in the Northeast of India.

2) The reformation of the security sector, involving a boosted morality especially when it comes tothe protection of women. Their security needs to be ensured by increasing the amount of female

police officers in the stations and guaranteeing their presence at all arrests of women.

3) To work towards ending the exclusion of women from non-traditional roles in society, especiallyin the governing sector. The legal rights of women in conflict zones also need to be strengthened

by their promotion. This can be advocated by an appropriate implementation of the United

Nations Security Council 1325+ and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of

Discrimination against Women.

4) For all women to work on a shared vision, through re-establishing relationships, networking andinteracting with other workers in the regional, national or international level. Misguided

perceptions can end when we learn about and from each other, and this interchange can begin

through efforts such as community exchange programs

5) To build a positive peace starting from developmental aspects.6) To address the main identity issue within each state. Divisions are easily made because of this

problem especially when it comes to peoples common interests. Alliances should be made across

communities and state borders.

7) To break the connection between drugs and arms, both of which are utilized by state and nonstate actors. Currently, borders around states such as Manipur are blocked off from receiving

commodities that people need to lie but drugs and guns are going through...what about a zone of

free trade?

8) All sectors (security, judiciary, legislative, and executive) need to be reformed and made to bedemocratic instead of militarized. Resources and mindsets are controlled by those with guns or

those in office. The common people need to educate themselves, and so resources such as the

Laws of War need to be distributed in local languages.


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Conclusion

The second consultative conclave was successful in the sense that the women that were brought togetherin this conference were not as different at the end of the day when they shared their personal lifeexperiences. From academics to researchers, lawyers and social activists, everyone participated with great

enthusiasm and with appreciation for one another. After all, the women were all there because they allbelieved they could make a difference in their respective home states when violence struck at theirdoorsteps.

For the second time women from all over Northeast India gathered together to draft a Frame-Work ofAction for democracy, human rights, economic justice and conflict prevention in Indias Northeast. Theconclave offered these women the opportunity to show that the conflict is widespread and that no one isalone in their efforts to make peace. All agreed on key common issues that need to be addressed withother members of society, with local policy-making bodies and with the Indian central government. Theconclave concluded on a touching note as all the participants were united in their belief that they werenot alone and that if they joined forces, than perhaps peace in their region would be possible.

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