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Pre-colonial Period
Located at the crossroads of South, South East and Far East Asia, the valley
of Manipur and its surrounding hills have been a melting pot of waves of peoples
and their cultures. Much like her sisters in the South East Asia, the Manipuri
women have always been playing a major role in the socio-economic life of the
society. A living testimony is the internal market network run and managed
exclusively by women.
Historians opine that, since the
state formation in 33 A.D., patriarchal traditions have become the dominant
cultural trait. However, it became more rigid with the advent of Hinduism
in the first half of 18th Century.
Colonial Period
After British subjugation of
Manipur in 1891, the exploitative policies of the puppet ruler and colonial
masters, coupled with the disarming of the male population, gave birth to
militancy from among the women. Perhaps, it was the daily convergence of women
from all parts of the State at the Khwairamband Keithel (Imphal's main
market managed by women), which facilitated the first anti-colonial uprising
from among the womenfolk.
In 1904, when the British
Political Agent ordered all adult males of Imphal to rebuild his bungalow which
was burnt down by some unidentified persons, the market women mounted a protest
against the imposition. Later, the government had to withdraw its order. The
uprising is known as the first Nupilal (Women's War).
A similar uprising of the women,
this time directed against the artificial scarcity of food caused by the
colonial policies of the British and non-Manipuri businessmen, took place in
1939. (See Document 1 for the Administration Report of 1939-40)
Although these uprisings were
instrumental in the emergence of militancy among women, it failed to ignite a
process of change in the age-old values of traditional society.
Economy
Most Manipuri women were
traditionally engaged in almost all the production activities including handloom
and agriculture. Over the years, they have been increasingly marginalized. Their
products could neither compete with the machine made products from the
industrial centres of India nor could they cater to the fast changing tastes of
the society.
Woman's control of the market is
a myth today. The real control lies in the hands of the unscrupulous traders and
merchants. The situation is most graphically seen in the marginalization of the Khwairamband
Keithel. Once a picturesque economic hub, it is today buried in the midst of
multi-storied buildings.
As a consequence of mounting
economic pressure on the domestic front, an increasing number of the
economically displaced women could be seen engaging themselves in unconventional
jobs, like the daily wage labour, black marketing in front of cinema halls,
prostitution (which exist covertly) etc.
According to 1991 Census, women's
share in the work force is about 41% among the main workers, 85% among the
marginal workers and 52% among the non workers.
Education
Modern education came to Manipur
late in 1885 with the establishment of a Middle English School at Imphal. A few
primary schools were opened during 1893-95. However, the enrolment at that time
was confined to boys only, the parents unwilling to send their daughters to
these schools.
In spite of such prejudice
against female education, a separate Girls' Primary school was established in
1899. Only 12 girls came forward to join the school, that too mainly from
well-to-do families. The first High School for girls came up only in 1934-35.
In the post World War -II period, education of women gained wider acceptance. The enrolment, however, was only
1700 girls as against 25,400 boys at the Primary level, in 1947. By 1961, a few
women was inducted into the teaching profession and the female literacy rate in
that year was 18.87% as against 53.49% male literacy.
According to 1991 Census, the
female literacy rate of Manipur is 47.60% (Urban 58.67% and Rural 43.26%). The
male-female differential of literacy is 24.03 percentage. Compared to the
average Indian scenario of female literacy (39.29%) the Manipur situation is
better. The rural-urban gap of female literacy is also considerably less in
Manipur. However, the urban male-female differential in literacy is much wider
in Manipur (23.44) compared to the All India average (17.04).
In case of higher education, the
Manipur scenario is a dismal failure. As a result, a large number of students go
outside the state for attending higher education. For reasons financial or
otherwise, the parents usually give their sons the first priority when it comes
to the matter of pursuing further studies outside the state.
Employment
With education, the employment of
women in government institutions increased. Although many women professionals
have come up, the maximum number of employed women is in teaching and clerical
jobs. Perhaps this is because women themselves feel or is made to feel the two
jobs are more suited or safer to their gender role. More so, it seems to be the
preference of most fathers and husbands.
Health
Even though official record
claims 16 Community Health Centres, 69 Primary Health Centres and 420 Sub-centres
all over the state, most of them are dysfunctional. These centres are
ill-maintained and the health professionals seldom attend the centres. As a
result, there is overcrowding at the few functional hospitals in the capital
city.
This has posed a major constraint
in access to health care services of the women, including appropriate services
during prenatal and the postnatal period. As a matter of fact, in most of the
rural areas and hill districts these needs are met by the time tested
traditional methods of health care for women.
Other articles in the January Feature
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