Naga Women As Peace Maker In War And Conflict Situation (Yesterday And Today)

Abstract

Abstract

Naga Women since their long chequered history are the peace promoters and played key roles in bringing amicable solutions. Nagas in the olden days were head hunters and wars of various kind were fought. Though women were not allowed to join in decision making and various social restrictions were imposed on them, they were empowered to exercise a special power of stopping severe battles and conclude peace and treaty. In this respect, even the king cannot interfere or restrict any of her actions as a peacemaker. She is called (Phukhareila) in Tangkhul. When she lifted her zeithing (metal staff) to stop the fighting, the wa rring party would honoured her order and stop fighting instantly. “Prerogative of such a high honour has never been given to men” (Y.K. Shimray) “She was the peace maker, the bearer of the torch of Peace and the Red Cross bearer of Naga inter-village war ” ( R.R Shimray ) In tandem with the role of Phukhareila of yesteryears, the modern Naga women under the leadership of Naga Mother’s Association, Nagaland Naga women Union Manipur and various units of NWUM are ceaselessly volunteering for peace and justice acting as human shields, negotiating with the security forces and militants for safety of the unarmed people, mediating inter-factional violence and emerging as the front line against human rights violations. This paper is my humble attempt to highlight the role of Naga women as peace promoter and to empower women worldwide like yesteryears of Naga Phukhareila