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Manipur’s ‘Iron Lady’ Irom Chanu Sharmila, who has been on a hunger strike for the past 16 years demanding repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), today announced her decision to end the fast on August 9 and contest state Assembly elections, scheduled in 2017.
“I will end my fast on August 9 and contest elections,” the 44-year-old rights activist announced before the media after coming out from a local court here.
She said she no longer believes that her fast will lead to the repeal of the “draconian” AFSPA but she will continue the fight. “That is why I will join politics and my fight will continue,” said Sharmila who has refused to eat or drink anything since November, 2000.
Sharmila is forcibly fed through a nasal tube in Imphal’s Jawahar Lal Nehru Hospital, a special ward of which acts as her prison.
She had been arrested, released and then re-arrested from time to time on the charge of making an attempt to commit suicide. The maximum punishment under Section 309 of IPC is a one-year jail term.
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