Manipur University Hosts National Seminar on Women’s Roles in Conflict-Affected Societies

The Women’s Studies Centre at Manipur University successfully concluded a one-day national seminar titled “Women, Conflict and Society (NSWCS 2025)” on Thursday, drawing around 100 scholars, researchers, and delegates to discuss the gendered impacts of conflict, with a focus on Northeast India and Manipur’s ongoing ethnic tensions.

Held in hybrid mode at the Department of Sociology in Canchipur, the event featured four parallel technical sessions where approximately 40 research papers were presented. Topics ranged from women’s roles in peacebuilding, displacement, trauma, resilience, entrepreneurship, domestic violence, and environmental resistance to issues like patriarchy, digital risks, and transwomen’s experiences in conflict zones.

The seminar comes amid Manipur’s prolonged ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities, which has persisted into 2025, displacing tens of thousands and claiming hundreds of lives since erupting in 2023. Papers highlighted women’s dual roles as victims, survivors, and agents of change in such crises, including lived experiences in relief camps and socio-cultural negotiations during ethnic clashes.

The inaugural session, starting at 10 a.m., included a keynote address by Prof. Ajailiu Niumai from the University of Hyderabad, who explored women’s agency amid structural violence and conflict transformation in frontier regions. Guest of Honour Prof. Rajendra Kshetri (Retd.) emphasized women’s strengths in conflict management, while Chief Guest Prof. L. Memcha, Dean of Social Sciences, underscored the role of women’s studies centers in bridging academia and social challenges, particularly how new media reshapes realities for women.

Presiding over the session, seminar convener Dr. M. Lilee, Director of the Women’s Studies Centre, contrasted the symbolic high status of women in Indian society with their real-world sufferings, as evidenced in government reports.

Technical sessions delved deeper: The offline Session I examined women’s peacebuilding efforts, poverty, labor, and risks in Manipur; the online Session II connected local issues to broader feminist theories and national debates; while Sessions III and IV tackled displacement, incarceration, cultural production, disability, and grassroots resistance, such as around Loktak Lake.

Moderators included Prof. N. Tejmani Singh, Dr. Rajni Bala from Punjab, Prof. L. Prabhakar Singh, and Dr. M. Lilee.

The valedictory session distributed certificates, with organizers expressing gratitude to Vice Chancellor Prof. N. Lokendra Singh for his support.Organizers described the seminar as a vital interdisciplinary platform advancing feminist scholarship and policy discourse on gendered conflict dimensions, especially relevant to Manipur and the Northeast region.

Signpost NewsDesk

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