Heroes or villains? Questionable roles for Manipur’s ‘mothers’ and Assam Rifles in cases of sexual violence

Incidentally, the role of Meira Paibi, hitherto hailed as a peacekeeper, has come under heavy scrutiny following multiple allegations of her involvement in crimes against women, including sexual violence. The survivors seen in the “viral video”, who were allegedly raped by members of the same mob shown in the clip, were beaten up and handed over to the men (allegedly from the militant Meitei group Arambai Tengol), allegedly by women affiliated with Meira Paibi. The group has been named in several FIRs and testimonies by Kuki-Zo complainants, including survivors of sexual violence and assault. “It was the women of Meira Paibi who first attacked me and then handed me over to armed men who then sexually abused me,” explained Angel*, a 19-year-old gang rape survivor from the Kuki community who is currently recovering in Kangpokpi. Angel was abducted on May 15, two weeks after the violence broke out, in a car outside an ATM in east Imphal where she had gone to collect cash. Similar allegations were made by the parents of Flora*, who was allegedly raped and then murdered by a mob of Meiteis at a car wash in Imphal's Porompet district on May 4. “The women handed the girls over to the men,” Flora's father claimed. Former nursing student Chin Sian Chiang, who was dragged out of her college on May 4 and attacked by Meitei women before being paraded on the street. She said the women threatened her and her friend, both Kukis, with rape. “They said Kukis had raped Meitei women in Churachandpur and so the Meitei men would do the same to us in revenge,” Chiang recalled. She claimed she was not sexually assaulted, adding that she was “lucky.” “It was very disheartening to see women we respected as peacekeepers and mothers becoming perpetrators of violence,” said the 23-year-old from Churachandpur, where she currently lives. She was admitted to AIIMS in Delhi after the attack last year.