China Invented The Weirdest Way Ever To Ward Off Perverts

This might be the strangest way of keeping aggressive men at bay, but we have to give it major points for being clever.

"Super sexy, summertime anti-pervert full-leg-of-hair stockings, essential for all young girls going out," @HappyZhangJiang describes the item on China's popular microblogging service, Sina Weibo.

They remind us somewhat of the less playful, more functional "anti-rape" lingerie developed recently by three engineering students in India. That garment is wired to deliver an electric shock to sexual attackers and can send an alert message, with GPS coordinates, to the attacked woman's friends and family.

The idea behind the hair stockings, we're guessing, is that lewd gropers wouldn't come anywhere near you. Tongue-in-cheek, but inventive nonetheless.

LOOK:

(Hat tip, chinaSMACK via Hypervocal)

Displaced Families in Mizoram To Take Refuge in Local Church

Aizawl, Jun 19 : At least 16 families have resolved to seek shelter in the church at Mualkhang village, situated along NH-54 (Aizawl-Silchar road), after their deadline to leave the village ends on June 30.

The Mualkhang villagers ordered these people, some of whom are Myanmarese nationals, living near the village to vacate the area by June 30. The families, some of them Mizos of Myanmar, have nowhere to go if forced to leave the area, said Vanramchhuangi, better known as Ruatfela Nu, a writer and human rights activist.

Vanramchhuangi, who visited the area on Sunday, said, "Earlier, they were ordered to leave the area by the end of May, but the deadline was extended after the pastor of the local Presbyterian Church intervened."

"Some of them are working in farms, while some are working in the cooking gas bottling plant at Mualkhang," she said, adding that the eviction order seemed to have stemmed from the xenophobic attitude of the Young Mizo Association (YMA).

The local priest of the Presbyterian Church, Pastor T Lalthantluanga, said he will do everything to protect the people if they sought shelter inside the church. "They are all Christians and if they seek refuge inside the church, I will do my best to protect them and will be the first to be forcibly pulled out from the church if the villagers decide to evict them from the church," the priest was quoted as saying.

A total of 50 families were residing near Mualkhang village, but the villagers of Mualkhang branded them as illegal settlers and urged them to leave the area.

Ending Violence Against Women From Northeast India

By Binalakshmi Nepram

On 29 May 2013, AS Reingamphi from Choithar village, Ukhrul district of Manipur was found dead in her rented accommodation at Chirag Dilli under Malviya Nagar Police Station in Delhi. There were signs of brutal assault on her nose, face and legs.

The deceased girl’s relatives submitted a complaint letter to the police station charging the landlord and his brother-in-law of sexually assaulting and murdering Reingamphi, but no action was taken. It was only after three days of sustained pressure after hundreds of protestors gathered, that the police finally lodged an FIR under Section 306, which is abetment to suicide. This is in complete disregard of the preliminary post-mortem report, which does not mention the cause of her death, and against the wishes of the family who wanted the case to be filed under IPC 302 and 304. The reports of the two post-mortems conducted remain inconclusive about the cause of death. Meanwhile, the landlord and the police claim that the girl committed suicide and the injuries on her person were caused by rats. As protests continued in Delhi, the mortal remains of Reingamphy were taken to her native village in Manipur on 6 June 2013.

The death of Reingamphi is a tragic reminder of the continuous violence against women from the Northeast. But her death brought forth a united Northeast collective and women’s groups like never seen before in Delhi. However, questions about what has really changed after the brutal 16 December Delhi gang rape persist.

A large number of people from the Northeast travel to mega cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad mainly for professional or academic purposes. According to the North East Support Centre & Helpline (NESC&H), over 414,850 people from Northeast India came to these mega cities of the country during the time period of 2005 and 2010. The national capital has emerged as one of the most preferred destinations for people from this region, ironically, in an effort to seek refuge from violent conflict in their hometown. Men and women from the Northeast are often subjected to racial discrimination and violence, often leading to severe beatings, and on some occasions, rape or death. It is alleged that almost half the women sexually harassed in the national capital and its neighbourhood are from the Northeast. And the numbers are only increasing. “Seventy-eight out of hundred people from Northeast India living in Delhi face racial discrimination, with crime against women, human trafficking and violence against people from the community emerging as major concerns”, reveals the 2011 research study by NESC.

The study further reveals that “more cases of violence and sexual harassment have come to the limelight since the past five to six years. Between the period of 2007 and 2011, NESC&H recorded 96 crimes against people from the Northeast in Delhi and NCR, of which, 58 percent happened against women, including molestation, human trafficking, beating, rape and attempt to rape. Challenges faced by people from the Northeast in Delhi have seen a shift from racial attacks to sexual violence and human trafficking. The last challenge is more worrisome compared to first and second. A very disturbing trend of sexual harassment by landlords has also come to the fore, and quite often, when victims approach the police for help, they are turned down by an indifferent attitude.

Some of the shocking incidents in the past include the case of Ramchanphy Hongray, a 19-year-old girl from Manipur who was sexually assaulted, strangled to death and burnt at her rented apartment at Munirka in south Delhi in 2009 by Pushpam Sinha, a PhD scholar working at the India Institute of Technology Delhi and the case of a young BPO employee from Mizoram who was kidnapped in 2010 from Dhaula Kuan in Delhi, gang raped and then dumped in an unconscious state.


A UN study titled launched on 28 May 2013, highlights that indigenous girls are at a heightened risk due to the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination they face. It says that such discrimination has been caused or amplified by colonial domination, limited access to social services, militarisation and dispossession from ancestral lands – all of which increase the vulnerability of indigenous people to violence and limit their ability to seek protection and recourse.

Though the UN has a ‘Protection of Women under International Humanitarian law’, the question is, why are these laws not implemented, why do these laws remain only on paper instead of being put into action? The Delhi State Commission for Women has been set up under an Act of the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, passed in 1994. The main objectives of the Commission are to ensure security, development and well-being of women in every sphere of national life and particularly to suggest and ensure implementation of steps against gender discrimination. Programmes and projects undertaken by the Delhi Commission for Women Security, are supposed to ensure the security of women in the capital, which includes physical security, domestic harmony and legal protection.

There is an urgent need for the authorities to launch a mass education and sensitisation programme for the police as well as the general public towards people of the Northeast. As per the recommendations submitted to Justice Verma Committee by our team at the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network;

1. The government must initiate the setting up of special non-political bodies with the involvement of media and activists, for fact-finding and dealing with cases of violence against women and youth from Northeast India in major metropolitan cities of India.
2. Stricter laws should be in place against the perpetrators of such crimes and they should be given harsher punishments for stigma and discrimination.
3. A special and effective redressal cell should be present for women and youth from the Northeast.
4. A proper environment must be created for rehabilitation. Gender-sensitive and women-controlled economic rehabilitation for victims of violence must be prioritised.
5. Proper awareness and orientation to people of Northeast India, mainly students, about the cities.
6. An effective special mechanism to deal with safety of women from the Northeast.
7. More people from the Northeast in law enforcing agencies.
8. Use of media not to victimize, but clear stereotypical perceptions about people from the Northeast.

For a nation to develop, it has to overcome discriminations on the basis of gender, race, region and caste. For many people of Northeast India, the thrust to seek a new life away from insurgent politics brings them to Delhi and other metro cities of India where they are subjected to another form of violence and discrimination. To combat the rising violence, a sustained coordinated campaign needs to be launched to ensure protection of women from the Northeast both within and outside the region.
In the 1980s, when violence crept into the Manipur society, Manipuri women started the ‘Meira Paibi’ or ‘Women with Torches’ movement. “We marched through the streets at night with flaming torches to take the darkness away,” one of the founding members says. With the rise in violence against women and children in India today, we need a billion flaming torches to lift the darkness.

(Research support by Ms Sujata, Ms Ankitha, Ms Julia, Ms Ifra and Ms Gurung of the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network)

WTF: In India Legal Age Sex = Marriage

Couple of right legal age indulging in sex are husband and wife: Madras HC

In a ruling which might have a far reaching impact, Madras High Court has said if a couple in the right legal age indulge in sexual gratification, it will be considered a valid marriage and they could be termed as husband and wife.

Chennai, Jun 18 :

"..if any couple choose to consummate their sexual cravings, then that act becomes a total commitment with adherence to all consequences that may follow, except on certain exceptional considerations," Justice CS Karnan said in his order.

He said that marriage formalities of tying a mangalsutra, garlands and rings were only for the satisfaction of society.  Either party could approach a family court for declaration of marital status by producing documentary proof for a sexual relationship.

The judge also said once such a declaration is obtained, the couple can establish self as each others' spouse in any government records.

Justice Karnan made these observations in his order Monday while modifying an April 2006 judgement of a family court in a maintenance case.

A family court in Coimbatore had ordered a man to pay Rs 500 maintenance per month to his two children and Rs 1000 as litigation expenses and had held that the woman's wedding with him did not have any documentary proof.

In his judgement, Justice Karnan directed the man to pay her maintenance of Rs 500 a month from the date of petition (September 2000) and that the arrears be paid within three months.

Mizoram Seeks More Security Fund

Aizawl, Jun 17 : Capitalising on the visit of the Union ministry of home affairs’ officer-on-special duty (OSD) to the state, the Mizoram government on Saturday underlined the need for security-related expenditure (SRE) in Mizoram, which is sandwiched between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

At a meeting here, Mizoram’s chief secretary informed the OSD, Anil Goswami, that the SRE from the ministry of home affairs excluded Mizoram on the ground that it was a peaceful state.

However, as Mizoram shares long porous borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh and insurgency-hit states in the Northeast, the state is very much in need of the fund like any other state in the region, if not more. “The non-receipt of SRE has hampered security measures in Mizoram,” the chief secretary told Goswami.

In response, officials said, Goswami assured him about taking all steps to include Mizoram in the list of SRE recipients. Intelligence sources said that Mizoram is a route for cross-border trafficking of arms as was evident from a recent haul of 33 AK-47 rifles.

In the important meeting with the visiting Union Home Secretary, Chief Secretary of Mizoram Mrs. L.Tochhawng apprised the latter that as Mizoram shares long boundary line with Myanmar and Bangladesh, its security cannot be neglected, and so due to non-receipt of ‘Security Related Expenditure’ (SRE) from the Home Ministry, security works used to get diluted. Regarding the matters that were apprised to him, Anil Goswami assured to look into the matter immediately.

Amongst the crucial matters discussed in the meeting with OSD Home also includes the fund requirement of 4th & 5th IR Bn., strengthening of police, Bru repatriation and of the ongoing construction of border fencing.

Visiting Anil Goswami also met Mizoram Governor Vakkom Purushothaman at his residence.
Anil told the Governor that he found Mizoram as a beautiful place which can be a tourists’ destination.

Later in the evening, Mizoram Chief Minister Lalthanhawla stressed about Security Related Expenditures (SRE) to the Union Secretary, besides apprising him of the need to construct police quarters.

Is The Game Changing in Mizoram?

By Prasenjit Biswas

On 23 May, the opposition Mizo National Front organised an anti-idolatry rally in Aizawl and there was a blast in the Assam Rifles’ temple complex that day. Following the signing of the  June 1986 historic Mizo Accord, Mizoram has been a picture of peace, so the new development appears to indicate a subterranean discord that mixes politics, ethnic identity and religion. Little is known to the outside world of these subtle changes in the tune and nuances of politics in Mizoram, but internally it signals a social and cultural fragmentation.

On a recent visit to Aizwal, I heard of how its residents felt a sense of insecurity vis-a-vis the haphazard construction of  residential buildings in a town that is prone to landslides and the government’s apathy. Their frustration has found expression in action, like Mizo Young Association members taking it upon themselves to drive out Chin refugees from the Lengpui area to make the city crime-free. Anger and grief directed against the ruling party and blaming the growing rates of crime on Chin refugees go hand in hand with the larger picture of social, religious and ethnic fragmentation of Mizo society into many ideologies and groups. Raising the issue of idolatry practised by some Mizo leaders is also a psychological ploy to confuse social insecurity with the loss of faith that afflicts the community.

The rally was an expression of ideological differences not only between political parties but also between various social groups and identities. The blast, for which the MNF blamed the ruling Congress, indicates the extent of ideological manoeuvres. The state home minister described the rally as a kind of self-infliction. This is nothing but an ideological contestation of a complex mix of ethnicity, religion and politics that hurts Mizo society.

The rally’s main objective was to expose how, during Durga  Puja, Congress  chief minister Lalthanhawla lit candles at a pandal. Opposition leader Zoramthanga argued that by doing so the chief minister had violated Christian ethics that prohibits the worshiping of idols. He also pointed out that the chief minister’s  wife, Lal Riliani, had even put colour on her forehead and broke coconuts.  According to him, all this exposed how the Congress was pandering to what the Mizos considered an “evil” and, therefore, outside the Mizo way of life.

There’s no gainsaying the fact that in a deeply Christian Mizo society, such public acts of display by the ruling party chief and his family members did not go down well with the masses as it contradicts their belief in Christ. The larger issue of secular practice by heads of a state as per the Constitution has not been broached by the MNF, but it simply hinted at the performance of a ritual that Christians are not supposed to indulge in.

This brings us to the issue of the Church’s hold on and influence in the political outlook and choices of the Mizo people as such. A respected public figure cannot cross that Laxman Rekha drawn by his faith. Going against the deep-rooted faith and belief of the masses by a public leader in the Mizo context is still to be accepted as “normal”. The MNF protest rally simply voices the sentiments of commoners, who are taught not to practice any form of idolatry.

All this brings back the issue of the authenticity of being a Mizo, which lies in following  God’s commandments. Obviously, in a plural Indian society a narrow and mono-religious notion of God creates tension, both for those who believe and those who do not. Zoramthanga’s reference to Exodus, Chapter 20 — which says  “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” — very successfully revived the memory of the abolition of the bawi (slave) system by Christian missionaries as well as invokes the Mizo belief that they are part of the 12 lost tribes that moved out of Egypt. The eschatology of the exodus out of Egypt and the contemporary revival of Bnei Menashe (children of Menasseh) who are lost in India’s North-east and who now reconnect them with the resettled communities of Israel, are believed to be tribes of Manasseh. Such moves in imagination and faith constitute the contemporary sense of belonging to Mizo identity.

Having lost two elections consecutively, the MNF is trying to generate mass opinion against the Congress as a practitioner of “evil”. Such  political rivalry, as always, centres round a search for roots and an assumption of the right identity-roles that would ultimately decide who wins the ideological battle.

In this battle, the idea of election in a Hebrew sense becomes an argument for revival. Election marks a reconnection with the tribes of Manasseh through a journey into Israel’s territory. It also reinvokes the memory of the complex inter-clan relationship during and after the abolition of slavery. Clans such as the Raltes, Sailos, Hualngos, Lenchungs, Zadengs, Pacchaus, Chhakchhuaks, etc, and their complicated role during the anti-slavery movement, Mizo insurgency and their present social status determine the political influence of respective parties. The MNF’s playing the identity card is effectively countered by the Congress’s more prominent strategy of winning over people by its ideology of secularism. So, the whole picture seems to be emerging slowly into a game changing scenario through a carefully crafted ideological battle. 

The writer ~ an associate professor, Department of Philosophy, North East Hill University, Shillong ~ co-edited Construction of Evil in India’s Northeast, Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2012

On Top Of The World

By IBOYAIMA LAITHANGBAM



There is a saying in Manipur that there are, on average, two bicycles and one sportsperson in every Manipuri home. Bidyapati Ningthoujam comes from one such home.

On May 17, the 30-year-old Ningthoujam became the first Manipuri woman to scale Mt. Everest. If you imagined this mountaineer would be a sturdy Amazon of a woman, you are mistaken.

The slender and graceful Ningthoujam is, among other things, an accomplished dancer, and has given performances both on television and in several public performances.

A graduate of Liberal College in Luwangshangpham of Heingang valley, the keen sports girl was a National Cadet Corps cadet. Her father Kokngang and mother Borni are poor farmers who are hard pressed to provide two meals a day for their three children, leave alone the balanced and nutritious diet that a sportsperson needs. They say it’s a miracle that despite the deprivation their daughter has conquered the highest peak in the world.

Ningthoujam took part in debates and adventure sports while in the NCC, but she had an irresistible urge to climb and finally joined the Manipur Mountaineering and Trekking Association. Her mother recalls how every morning she would go jogging on the Imphal-Dimapur highway.

Her promising performance got her selected to the North-Eastern team of climbers to Mt Everest, an expedition sponsored by the North Eastern Council and guided by the Manipur Mountaineering and Trekking Association. “It’s a dream come true,” she says, smiling.

She is the proud winner of the Rs 10 lakh cash reward that the Manipur government announced to each mountaineer who scaled the peak. Biren Nongthombam, the MLA from her constituency, is persuading Chief Minister Okram Ibobi, who is keen to patronise sports in the state, to give her a job.

Not that Ningthoujam is resting on her laurels. She plans to climb Mt Kanchenjunga next. “I would love to climb K2 as well, but since it is in Pakistan, I will first conquer Kanchenjunga,” she says.

Despite her hectic schedule, like other Manipuri daughters, Ningthoujam helps her parents in the paddy fields and also earns money for the family with weaving and embroidery work.

Ningthoujam likes to talk about the difficulties of the climb and her close shave with death, as she scaled the peak with an icy wind blowing at 80 kmph. Already, she has become somewhat of a hero in her tiny state with its population of 27 lakh people, and several young sportswomen and climbers say they are eager to follow in her footsteps.

Honda Unveils 'CB Trigger' For Northeast India Market

Guwahati, Jun 18 : Country's second largest two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India today launched 150 cc motorcycle CB Trigger for the North-East aimed at capturing 20 per cent of the market in this segment in the region.

The CB Trigger is priced between Rs. 70,315 and Rs. 79,900 (ex-showroom, Guwahati), Vivek Taluja, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) Division Head (Regional Office East), told reporters here.

The bike, which will compete with Bajaj Auto's Pulsar, claims to give a mileage of 60 kilometre per litre.

Talking about sales expectation from this region, Taluja said, "The 150cc category market in the North-East is around 2,600 units per month. We are targetting to capture 20 per cent share with the CB Trigger." The company is currently working on organising a rally from Guwahati in Assam to Tawang via Bombdila in Arunachal Pradesh to give its brand image a boost, and is inviting Honda customers to take part in it, he added.

"We are interested in organising a bike rally in the North-East to strengthen our brand image. We are considering to do it this year," Taluja said.

When asked if it will be for all HMSI buyers, Taluja said, "Usually premium bike owners are more willing to take part in such adventures. We are looking to invite customers who have bought bikes of 250cc or above category." HMSI at present has 17 dealers across the North-East region, and it is adding 3-4 more by the end of this year, he added.