2023-07-24 02:27:00
The activist and director of the New Delhi Commission for Women, Swati Maliwaltraveled to northeast India this Sunday to meet and provide legal aid to the two women who were forced to parade naked in front of dozens of men, as seen in a video released this week that sparked anger in the Asian country.
“I want to meet survivors of sexual abuse and see if they have legal assistance, advice or compensation.”Maliwal said upon arriving at the Imphal airport, the capital of the state of Manipur, where the attack took place, in statements to the Indian news agency ANI.
This visit occurs one day following the official reported that the local government had recommended “postpone your visit due to the public order situation” in the state, which has been in an ethnic conflict for more than two months that has caused almost 150 deaths and tens of thousands of evacuees.
Maliwal noted that he will first meet with Manipur’s Head of Government, N. Biren Singh, with whom he will discuss “the highly relevant issue of the cases of human rights violations and sexual assault in Manipur.”
“I am also seeking your support in visiting the violence relief camps where victims of sexual assault are currently staying”he maintained in a letter that he shared on Twitter before the trip and that is addressed to the head of government.
Maliwal seeks to provide aid to the two women who were forced to parade naked surrounded by dozens of men, some of them armed with sticks, in a rural area of the Thoubal district, according to a video that was allegedly recorded on May 4, a day following the riots began.
However, the video did not come to light until this week, when it led to protests in several cities in India; From the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to the regional authorities condemned the event and promised strong measures once morest those responsible.
The Police have so far arrested six people allegedly related to the event, although their role has also been questioned following both a complaint filed days following the event and one of the victims’ husbands ensured that members of the security forces handed over the women to the mob, the Indian Express newspaper reported.
Manipur has been the epicenter for more than two months of a wave of ethnic violence between the Meitei community, the majority in the state, and the Kuki tribe, a minority, but with more force in the mountainous areas.
The conflict has reached Parliament, where the opposition parties accuse the Modi government, which also holds power in Manipur, of silencing what is happening there and demand that the prime minister appear before the chamber to give explanations.
EFE
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