It’s an iconic image — 12 naked Manipuri women carrying banners which screamed in Halloween font: “Indian Army rape us”, “Indian Army take our flesh”. According to reports, as the women stood outside the gates of Assam Rifles, the Manipur police, for 45 minutes, Army and the paramilitary forces were alert but too shamed and shocked to do anything.
This unique protest, organised by a group of Manipuri women in Imphal on July 15, 2004, sent shockwaves across the nation. These women were protesting against the custodial rape and killing of 32-year-old Thangjam Manorama who had been picked up by the paramilitary troops on the night of July 10 on the suspicion of having links with militants. When her bullet-riddled body bearing signs of torture was found the next day, not far from her home, it triggered a wave of anger.
The Manipuri women were particularly enraged over the brutalities perpetrated by the security forces on a defenceless woman. They came out on the streets, sat in dharna, called for a state-wide strike but their cries were falling on deaf ears. That’s when they decided to do something drastic. Defying prohibitory orders, a dozen middle-aged women assembled outside the Assam Rifles headquarters at Kangla Gate and stripped. This was unprecedented.
The naked protest disturbed the collective conscience of Indians. What several organisations could not achieve with guns and grenades, these women had accomplished with their bare bodies. By shedding their clothes, these women, living in a remote corner of India, shamed the security forces, local administration and the Government of India and brought into focus the blatant misuse of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act by security personnel.