Rosemary Dzuvichu
The Angami Women Organization was started twenty five years back to foster better understanding and unity among women of the Angami tribe from the northern, southern, western and chakhro areas. As we step into the silver jubilee commemoration of sisterhood, let us first pay tribute to the visionary women leaders who saw the need to create better bonding and support among Angami women. If it were not for their contribution and perserverence, the AWO would not have reached where we stand today. Instead of being complacent with ourselves, twenty five years is a good time to take a hard look at not only ourselves, but at the network of sisterhood around us in the state and analyse our success and failures and meet the challenges ahead that face Naga women as a whole.
There have been great strides made by the Angami Women Organisation to bring women of the tribe together. Credit must be given to the different women leaders from the respective constituent areas who have given their time, energy and commitment to build up the organization to what it stands today, among other tribe women organizations. It is indeed a time to remember their contributions, particularly those women leaders who have passed away.
Angami history is replete with leading women figures who played a brave vital role not only during early troubled days of the Naga freedom movement, but also later in the formation of this organization that worked to heal, build and create better relationships among Angami women and the community as well as with other tribes living around them. The Angamis as a tribe have faced the cruel effects of wars being located in and around the Kohima battlefield of the Second World War that not only traumatized women and homes, but carried on into the Naga struggle for freedom, which saw thousands of their men dead, their homes and granaries burnt to the ground time and time again. Living with such memories and trying to build relationships, heal broken homes and spirits and pick up the thread of life was not an easy role for the woman of the Angami household.
The AWO needs to take into perspective the present status of Angami women as this is a strong indicator of where we stand today. In the field of Education, there have been great strides made ,with a good literacy rate among women and many prominent personalities in the field of education giving encouragement to younger generation of women.Many young professionals have emerged whic prove beyond doubt that our girls are doing as well as boys, if not better.
However, we have to remember that the education of the girl child is still taken lightly in many villages, whereby she is forced to abandon her studies due to poverty, household duties or sometimes an early marriage. There is also still the mistaken notion in many homes that a college degree is good enough for girls, even by their own mothers and this accounts for the present low rate of Angami girls in postgraduate studies in different disciplines in universities. Health , which is a strong indicator of our status, fortunately is quite sound as compared to many others who live in far flung areas of the state. Studies reveal that the proximity to the state capital, good hospitals and nursing homes and easier access to health facilities and awareness is one of the reasons for the good health status of Angami women.
The fact that a large majority of doctors also belong to the Angami tribe seems to be a strong factor for better health awareness. Though there are still indications of maternal and child mortality in many poor families that cannot afford or reach appropriate health care in time. Alcoholism and its problems have hit countless families during the past few decades and Angami women have borne the brunt of it silently, as many promising fathers, brothers and husbands and friends have passed away much before their time. Studies reveal that the Angamis probably have the highest number of widows in the state, sixty percent of whom are war widows of the Second world war, the Indo Naga war and factional killings and the rest - widows of alcoholic related deaths. This is an unfortunate figure, but we need to revitalize our men, brothers and sons and seriously look at alcoholism as a sickness that needs and can be cured and not allow it to destroy families and the society as a whole.
Unfortunately, most of alcohol sellers are also women themselves. Like many other societies, we are faced with a growing rate of alcoholism among women today in the state. Therefore this is not a time to preach and condemn, but to build stronger networks of support systems for the unfortunate victims and families and destroy the fears of social ostracisation that many families have developed which has lead to unnecessary deaths. Drug addiction seems to have touched almost every village in some form or the other and this needs to be seriously taken up in greater earnestness. Not by throwing these young people into jails and condemnation, but by seeking help and counselling for them at rehabilitation centres and with NGOs that have contributed so much in this area.
The threat of AIDS looms large over every Naga tribe and we need to seriously consider this major health concern that is facing us and our children. It is the responsibility of mothers to make sure we avail the best of health care for ourselves and our families and therefore, seek professional help instead of talking about it behind closed and locked doors. This is a great challenge ahead for AWO as an organization that can take stronger initiatives.
The economy of the Angami families is indicated by the strong presence of a large work force of Angami women in any market, agricultural activity, salaried jobs and private entrpreneurship in the state. For generations and decades, Angami women have always been very persistent, dedicated workers in any workplace, be it their home, the fields or their jobs and professions.
They seem to have a greater say in the management of the economy of their families in many homes and can decide on agricultural activities. But there are still many who have no control over such issues, inspite of being the breadwinners in many families. AWO can play a key role in economically empowering women by propagating the concept of Self help groups in all villages by tying up with different Government departments that carry out these programs, negotiating with banking agencies like the Rural Banks and the SBI for better and larger credit facilities for women farmers and entrepreneurs, develop better marketing avenues with government and semi government agencies, create linkage with EXIM for export avenues for agricultural products, woven furnishings ,naga designed clothes and so on.
Tourism and paying guest houses is another promising venture for our areas which has not developed as expected. Women groups can be encouraged to revitalize our home hospitality in our villages and thereby earn good money. However, the problems that tourism of countries like Thailand face today must also be kept in mind, where trafficking of women and children has risen to alarming proportions.
Angami women and their role in decision making is comparatively far better than many other tribes in the state. The Village Development Boards in many Angami villages are inclusive of women members as per studies carried out. However, many do not have a role to play in developing the village as a whole, because till date there has never been a woman chosen for the post of the Village VDB secretary in any of the villages. No doubt, there are women VDB Secretaries, but there is a big difference between making decisions for women and taking decision as a VDB secretary of the whole village. The Village Councils need to include more women representatives as per the rules laid down in the Village and Area council Act.
It is encouraging to note that at least the opinions of elderly women leaders are taken into account in a few villages. The Angami Public Organization has taken a very positive and encouraging step by upgrading women from Women Co-ordinators to having a full fledged Secretary’s post this time and inducting many women members in the recently formed committees of this apex body. The next big step would be to nominate women leaders into the Naga Hoho as representatives of the tribe. The election of Angami women as municipal councillors is encouraging, particularly in the capital.
However, AWO needs to urgently take up the issue of adequate women representatives as per the Municipal Act, not only for the rights of women, but also for the fact that it was due to the efforts of the AWO that we had the first women nominees in the Kohima Town Committee as well as the first lady Vice Chairperson of the KTC. In the political arena , twenty five years ago, Mrs.Rano has blazed a trial into the Parliament for Naga women to follow.
Let that be an inspiration to have some women legislators who can debate, fight for women and their rights as well as put policy plans for women into perspective in the years ahead. Let us not be mere blind followers of political parties and leaders, but bring about changes for the better, revitalize parties and make leaders more gender sensitive to women issues in the state.
The tragedy we face today is the sudden rise in crimes and violence against women and the girl child, particularly in our Angami areas. It is even more unfortunate that women themselves have been a party to such violence against women and children. It is not enough to condemn in the harshest terms and walk the streets every time we are defiled and our children raped and molested.
It is time that Naga women as a whole, forge links to create a safer and better environment for ourselves and our children. We have been crying ourselves hoarse and submitted many representations to the State Government for setting up the State Commission for Women for the past many years. We still do not have a State Policy for Women in the state. The AWO must take the initiative with other women organizations for implementing these two mandatory requirements that can protect women and their rights with the state government.
What better time than now, when the Chief Minister of the state belongs to our tribe and hopefully is more gender sensitive than many of his counterparts. And we are fortunate we have the support of His Excellency, the Governor in the state, who has been trying to gender sensitise our patriarchal society at every given opportunity.
As the Angami Women Organization celebrates these twenty five years of unity and sisterhood, let it not only be ‘creation of wealth’ issues and holding of sales in our local ground dressed in our best traditional fineries. Let us go beyond the boundaries of village, tribe and political affiliations and give more time during this silver jubilee year, to create better understanding and relationships with other tribe women organizations in the truest Angami traditional spirit of our ancestors.
Let us take the initiative to sensitise our community and ourselves on burning women issues in the state and work for the protection of women’s rights .Let us give our best efforts to be true peacemakers and peacebuilders for the unity of the Nagas. And above all, let us learn to forgive and forget all past hurts because it is only through forgiveness that true healing can take place in our lives and in our broken society.
(The writer is an Expert Member on the Expert Committee for Empowerment of Women in the North East, National Commission for Women, New Delhi and an Expert Member on the Standing Committee for Women Studies in Indian Universities and Colleges, University Grants Commission, New Delhi)
