I Have a Dream

“Women are desire of prosperity. By cherishing women one cherishes the goddess of prosperity herself, and by afflicting her, one is said to pain the goddess of prosperity,” Manu.

The students are the seeds of society. If the seeds are tainted how can we expect healthy plants? The youth are the buds today that will bloom to flowers tomorrow. We are, today, facing many problems of an unprecedented nature and certainly the problems of women are the foremost at this juncture. There are various forms of injustice done to our mothers and sisters in our society. Certainly words are insufficient to describe such injustice. My spirit, however, urges me to express some serious concerns.

The Constitution guarantees the right to equality, right against exploitation etc. Despite these rights, there are lots of injustice, exploitation, rape, discrimination and violence done to our sisters. While I do not want to burn my fingers on this sensitive issue, I feel compelled to express my distress because I love every mother and girl in the world. I hear the thundering echo of favoritism, exploitation, violence, rape, murder, etc even in our Naga society. If you too love them, hearing the echo we all must raise our voices for these voiceless victims.

Our women carry cultural stigma, social wounds, emotional hurts, physical pain, traditional scars etc. They are emotionally, mentally and physically tortured. All these grave problems cannot be solved by the magic word – education. Every girl child must be guaranteed equal status like the boy child.

To understand the traumas and sufferings of women in our society, just take a look at the data in the crime clock in India, as released by the National Crime Records Bureau Statistics;

“Molestation every 15 minutes

Rape every 29 minutes

Cruelty by husband and relatives every 9 minutes

Sexual harassment every 53 minutes

Dowry deaths every 75 minutes”

The above statistics are based o reported cases. Are you alarmed by it? For all these actions, we have to blame ourselves and our society. We have to free our women by breaking the shackles that chain them. The days of just thinking are over. If we delay our action, our future generation will be ruined and we will be held responsible. Let us, therefore, here and now take a resolution that we will protest against every case of injustice against women.

“Give me good mothers and I will give you a good nation,” says Napoleon. No nation or tribe which does not respect women has become great or will ever be so in future. By the condition of women we can judge the quality of a country.

To bring justice or equality, to solve all the problems faced by the women and thus to create a heavenly home in Naga society may seem an impossible dream. Despite the difficulties, frustrations and seeming impossibilities of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the Naga dream that one day this state will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed that all men and women are equal created to the image and likeness of God.

I have a dream that the Naga women folk will be able to feed the men folk with the honey of peace and reconciliation and that shooting, killing, factional clashes, brutality and displacement of people will disappear from this land for ever.

I have a dream that the Naga men and women will share equally their ancestral property and enjoy equal rights and privileges. I have a dream that the Naga of different tribes will be able to sit down together, holding their hands together at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood and thus walk together as brothers and sisters in the sweet Dzüko valley.

I have a dream that one day the Naga women will reign in the state Legislative Assembly even in the Lok Sabha. I have a dream that our women will become a chief minister, governor, prime minister, I.A.S, I.P.S etc transforming society.

I have a dream that one day my sisters will adorn our society with their splendid cultural dresses and arts as a part of their cultural identity and demonstrate their cultural pride. I have a dream that they will bear witness to the diversity in unity that the beautiful rainbow cultures and tribes of the Naga will be the epitome of the world cultures and tribes shining in the clear blue sky.

Women like Indira Gandhi, Hellen Keller, Helary Clinton, Angela Merkel, Sonia Gandhi etc should offer us inspiration by their living example. Yet, who can stop the modern women from advancing? In this progressive world who can suppress them? For all action- oriented people nothing is impossible. Therefore:

“If you can’t swim, fly

If you can’t fly, jump

If you can’t run, walk

If you can’t walk, crawl

But keep on moving towards your goal.”

Anonymous