The Hindu Business Line : Still a man's world

Wars and armed conflicts are generally perceived as domains where men fight, write about their experiences and perceptions, and negotiate peace. Reality, however, shows that the entire society, particularly women, bear the actual burden of armed conflict. Women remain invisible in the narrative and, despite the multiple roles they play, are excluded from the peace table.

The result is that when wars are concluded, women's position in society remains unchanged. This was apparent in the negotiations between the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland, Isak-Muivah, (NSCN I-M) and the Government of India. While negotiations were initiated after years of conflict one section of the Naga people — the women — would not be present at the conference table, even though women's struggle has held up the Naga movement.

All through the Naga insurgency, women have been focused upon either as "victims" or as part of the "infrastructure support" in the conflict. Women have been perceived mainly as relatives of the combatants ... the men of course... and therefore, their role has been restricted to "belonging" to the community.

But the ground reality, as Rita Manchanda's recently published book We Do More Because We Can shows, is that Naga women have carved out their space as civil society negotiators after years of intervention in issues that confront their society.

Apart from the conflict between the Nagas and the Indian State, other feuds and counter-insurgency methods have also led to human rights violations in Nagaland (and in the other north-eastern States of India). The Armed Forces Special Powers Act, for example, that gives the armed forces extra-judicial powers, has led to human rights abuses and widespread alienation. Differences among a few local groups have also resulted in violent feuds. These frozen wars have distorted the local economy, brutalised men and militarised society. And they have impacted on children and youth, who take to drugs and alcoholism, and resort to violence as a method of empowerment.

Over the years, Naga women have formed associations to voice these concerns and to mobilise their community. We Do More Because We Can tells their story.

The traditional intervention of Naga women in cases of inter-tribal violence has gradually evolved into social activism manifest in the Naga Mothers Association (NMA), formed in 1984, and the Naga Women's Union of Manipur, (NWUM). Manchanda points out that NMA's major contribution has been "in keeping open the channels of communication between warring factions and across communities, in defusing tensions and paving the way for reconciliation".

Taking up issues such as alcohol and drug abuse, NMA initiated campaigns for peace and opposition to violence, and intervened between the Armed Forces and the militants. While these women also aspire for Naga nationalism, along with the men, they were looking for alternate methods of negotiation that would not involve bloodshed and societal misery. Women's innovative campaigns gradually found acceptability and became indispensable in Naga civil society, especially after the ceasefire of 1997. New spaces were created for women, says Manchanda, because the "protracted experience of living under the virtual rule of the Indian Security forces, (has) emasculated Naga men's self-perception of their role as protectors".

Much like the Meira Paibies of Manipur, the Naga women too have "used the language (or concept) of motherhood" to get the status necessary for intervention. This method has its strengths, of course, since it evokes emotions linked to life and birth, and images of peace and caring. At the same time, the motherhood concept has restricted women because, being dependent on relationships within the family, it is linked with the private rather than the public sphere. It is a role that is second to the patriarch in hierarchy and value. So it curtails women to specific acts linked to this role and disallows them others.

Since the demands of nationalist movements place emphasis on nationhood, history has repeatedly shown that women's issues and rights continue to take a secondary position to political or economic demands. The argument is that the nation/children/youth etc need to be privileged and that only when these issues are solved, comes the question of women's rights. The roles of women are thus restricted; and patriarchal structures remain intact even as new nations are formed and the political elite shift.

However, none of this undermines the role of the Naga women's groups. Their role as effective communicators between conflicting sides, their methods of mediation, and their ability to mobilise civil society are exemplary.

"Naga women have been in the forefront of promoting an inclusive politics, validating the contribution of all `national workers' (those who have been part of the movement) emphasising the need for a peace that is in the interest of all Nagas as well as their neighbours," says the author.

Sections amongst Naga women — like the NWUM — are now seeking to challenge existing paradigms and get involved in the larger issues of the women's movement. In her book, Manchanda deals with the issues that confront Naga women in their efforts as peacemakers. Through field research and interviews, she has narrated the history of this contemporary yet critical movement innovatively — by speaking with women across several tribes and differing organisations, and accessing information that is out of the reach of general researchers.

However, some questions need to be raised. Why have the Naga women not asked for a change in their civil code that debars them from inheriting family property? Do men share domestic responsibility when women are engaged in public domains? Do Naga men and women have the same opinion on the demands and outcome of this movement? What are the details of the possibilities for peace in the region? In terms of production, the footnotes of this useful and important book have gone wrong midway and do not connect with the quotations used.

The issue of women's empowerment remains a critical agenda of our times. Manchanda's book brings out the multiple roles Naga women have played in a situation of armed conflict and the fact that they still remain outside the domain of power. It also voices the demands of the Naga women and civil society. It's time to give women the political role they deserve.

Women's Feature Service

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