Irom Chanu Sharmila
| Irom Chanu Sharmila | |
|---|---|
Irom Sharmila at a reception given by Solidarity Youth Movement to her in Kozhikode
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| Born |
14 March 1972 Kongpal, Imphal, Manipur, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Civil rights activist, political activist, poet |
| Known for | Hunger strike against Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act |
| Parent(s) | Irom c Nanda (father) Irom Ongbi Sakhi (mother) |
Irom Chanu Sharmila (born 14 March 1972), also known as the "Iron Lady" or "Mengoubi" ("the fair one") is a civil rights activist, political activist, and poet from the Indian state of Manipur. On 2 November 2000, she began a hunger strike which she ended on 9 August 2016, after 16 years of fasting. Having refused food and water for more than 500 weeks, she has been called "the world's longest hunger striker". On International Women’s Day, 2014 she was voted the top woman icon of India by MSN Poll.
In 2014 two parties asked her to stand in the national election, but she declined. She was then denied the right to vote as a person confined in jail cannot vote according to law. On 19 August 2014 a court ordered her release from custody, subject to there being no other grounds for detention. She was re-arrested on 22 August 2014 on similar charges to those for which she was acquitted, and remanded in judicial custody for 15 days.Amnesty International has declared her as a prisoner of conscience.
Sharmila grew up and lives in Manipur, one of the Seven Sister States in India's northeast, which has suffered from an insurgency for decades; from 2005 to 2015 about 5,500 people died from political violence. In 1958, the Indian government passed a law, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 that applies to just the seven states and grants security forces the power to search properties without a warrant, and to arrest people, and to use deadly force if there is "reasonable suspicion" that a person is acting against the state; a similar Act applies to Jammu & Kashmir.
She was already involved in local peace movements with regard to human rights abuses in Manipur when, on 2 November 2000, in Malom, a town in the Imphal Valley of Manipur, ten civilians were shot and killed while waiting at a bus stop. The incident, known as the "Malom Massacre", was allegedly committed by the Assam Rifles, one of the Indian Paramilitary forces operating in the state. The victims included Leisangbam Ibetombi, a 62-year-old woman, and 18-year-old Sinam Chandramani, a 1988 National Bravery Award winner.
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