Indian women living in the flames of ethnic conflict.

Mary initially hesitated to report her daughter's abuse in Manipur, but decided to speak out for fear of missing the opportunity to bring the perpetrator to justice.

Two months ago, Mary's 18-year-old daughter was abducted and gang-raped by a group of strangers. The next morning, she was left at her doorstep, brutally beaten.

"The attackers threatened to kill my daughter if she told anyone about this," Mary said outside the shelter where her family has been staying since ethnic conflict erupted between the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur, a northeastern Indian state, in May.

For two months, Mary didn't dare tell the police about what had happened to her daughter. However, everything changed after a video went viral online, sparking outrage in India and around the world .

In the video , two Kuki Christian women are seen being escorted naked by a group of men, at times being sexually assaulted, on a village road in B Phainom, Kangpokpi district, Manipur state, on May 4th. The village chief of B Phainom accused the attackers of belonging to the Meitei tribe, who practice Hinduism.

The video sparked outrage and protests in Manipur. The US State Department on July 23 called the incident "brutal" and "horrific," and said Washington expressed its condolences to the victims. Indian authorities have arrested six male suspects in connection with the incident.

The story spurred Mary to act. "I thought if I didn't do this now, I wouldn't have another chance. I would always regret not trying to bring those who attacked my daughter to justice," she said.

Mary said that her daughter had thought about suicide, but she tried to reassure her that she could still turn her life around.

Chiin Sianching, 19, fears she may face a similar fate. She and a friend were discriminated against for belonging to the Kuki community and attacked in the dormitory where they were studying nursing in Imphal, the capital of Manipur state.

Chiin Sianching, a victim of the ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki people in Manipur, India. Photo: BBC .

"The crowd kept banging on the room door and shouting that the Kuki men had raped their women, so now they would do the same to us," she said.

Chiin called her mother and said this might be the last time they spoke to each other. A few minutes later, the two girls were dragged out into the street and beaten unconscious. The crowd only fled, thinking they were dead. Police realized the two girls were still alive after checking their pulses.

Unverified reports of Meitei women being sexually assaulted by Kuki men fueled the Meitei mob's attack on Chiin and her friend.

The situation worsened after conflict erupted, turning the two communities, once neighbors, into enemies. Tensions escalated after a court ruled that the government should consider extending the benefits the Kuki people enjoyed to the Meitei as well.

The Kuki people, along with several other ethnic groups such as the Naga and Zomi, who make up more than 40% of the population of Manipur state, held a march on May 3rd to protest the ruling. Thousands of marchers reportedly attacked Meitei people, sparking a series of retaliatory clashes.

The Meitei and Kuki communities erected barricades at the village entrances, and men from both ethnic groups engaged in bloody clashes, resulting in over 130 deaths, 352 injuries, and approximately 60,000 people being displaced to seek refuge in shelters.

Street fires after clashes between Meitei and Kuki people in Manipur in June. Photo: PTI

However, the video of two Kuki women being forced to parade naked through the streets prompted Meitei women to take to the streets in protest, most notably the Meira Peibi group, also known as "the mothers of Manipur".

This group had previously protested against human rights violations and the mistreatment of women in the state. Sinam Surnalata Leima, the leader of Meira Peibi, said that the villagers themselves handed over the main suspect to the police in the case of forcing two women to parade naked through the streets. Members of Meira Peibi even gathered to burn down his house.

"The act of burning down the house is symbolic of the community's condemnation of the heinous crime committed by those men. Their actions cannot tarnish the honor of the entire Meitei community," said Leima.

The suspect's wife and three children have been expelled from the village.

Explaining the actions of the Meitei men in a community that values ​​women, Leima said, "It stems from grief and a desire for revenge for the Meitei women who were attacked by Kuki men."

Ms. Leima said she had not witnessed any such attacks, but stated that Meitei women would never speak about such incidents because they consider them shameful.

State police say they have not received any reports of violence against Meitei women since the conflict began, but a community spokesperson said there have been many unreported attacks.

"Meitei women fear that reporting violence against them will tarnish their dignity," said Khuraijam Athouba, a member of the Meitei organization Cocomi.

The brother of one of the two Kuki women forced into a naked parade is distraught over what happened. The mob that stripped and sexually assaulted his sister also killed their father and younger brother. He and his mother escaped death because they were visiting a family in another village when the clashes occurred.

The 23-year-old man wants all the mob arrested, especially those who killed his father and younger brother. "I want both communities to be treated fairly," he said.

Villagers burn down the house of the suspect in the case of a woman being forced to parade naked through the streets.

Villagers burn down the house of the main suspect in the case of forcing women to parade naked through the streets in Manipur state, India. Video: Reuters

Trust in the government and local authorities appears to be waning in both communities. N. Biren Singh, Chief Minister of Manipur and a member of the Meitei community, pledged to "severely punish the suspects and not rule out the death penalty." However, when asked about calls for his resignation due to his failure to resolve the conflict, he said, "My job is to bring peace to the state and punish those who do wrong."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi only spoke out about the ethnic conflict between the Kuki and Meitei people after a video of two women sparked outrage across the country. "What happened to the women in Manipur is unforgivable," he said.

However, for Leima, that statement tarnished the image of her Meitei community and showed that they had been neglected since the violence erupted in May.

"The Prime Minister only speaks out when Kuki women are attacked. But what about everything we are facing? Are we Meitei women not Indian citizens?", she said.

Meanwhile, observers believe the shocking video has helped draw public attention in India to the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur.

"Without this video, we wouldn't have received so much attention from the government and other political parties," said Gracy Haokip, a researcher who supports conflict victims, including Chiin Sianching.

She said it would help victims of attacks find the courage to share their stories while trying to rebuild their lives.

Chiin gave a speech to the women of her Kuki community, in which she said, "My mother told me that God had a reason for sparing my life, so I decided not to give up on my dream."

Thanh Tam (According to BBC )

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