In Manipur, where cycles of violence have shaped everyday life for decades, loss is not an isolated event. It lingers — in disrupted households, uncertain incomes, and the quiet restructuring of daily routines. For many families in conflict-affected areas, the aftermath of violence extends far beyond the moment it occurs.
Women are often at the centre of this aftermath.
Across communities, widows, mothers, and daughters frequently take on the responsibility of rebuilding lives — managing households, securing income, and holding together support systems in the absence of those lost. The burden is both emotional and economic, unfolding over months and years rather than in immediate response.
It is within this reality that the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network (MWGSN) has been working for over two decades — supporting women affected by armed violence through livelihood training, counselling, and community-based care.
From a single incident to a sustained response
The network traces its beginnings to 24 December 2004, when activist Binalakshmi Nepram witnessed the aftermath of the killing of 27-year-old Buddhi Moirangthem in Thoubal district. The incident highlighted a gap that would go on to shape MWGSN’s work: the absence of structured, long-term support for women left behind after violent loss.
One of the earliest documented beneficiaries was Rebika Akham, who, after losing her husband, received a sewing machine through the network — a small intervention that helped her begin rebuilding her livelihood.
Over time, such efforts evolved into a broader support system combining economic assistance with psychosocial care.
Rebuilding livelihoods, one step at a time
Over the years, MWGSN has supported over a thousand women through skill development, livelihood assistance, and counselling, according to organisational accounts.
MWGSN’s counselling sessions provide safe spaces for women to share grief and find collective support. Photograph: (Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network)
Its programmes focus on locally viable skills such as tailoring, handloom weaving, and small-scale enterprise, enabling women to generate income within their own communities. Access to small loans and basic financial systems further supports this transition toward independence.
Women associated with the network often describe these changes as gradual rather than immediate, beginning with small, local sources of income and building toward greater stability over time.
Creating space for grief
Alongside livelihoods, the network places strong emphasis on emotional support. In many parts of Manipur, conversations around mental health remain limited, particularly in rural areas.
MWGSN’s group sessions provide women with a space to speak about loss in the presence of others who share similar experiences. For many, it is the first time their grief is acknowledged beyond the private sphere.
Over time, these spaces evolve into networks of mutual support where listening, shared experience, and collective resilience become part of the healing process.
From support to leadership
A defining aspect of MWGSN’s work is how roles evolve within it. Women who initially join as beneficiaries often go on to become peer supporters, trainers, and organisers in their communities.
Women supported by the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network learn tailoring and weaving to rebuild livelihoods after conflict. Photograph: (Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network)
This shift reflects a broader transition, from individual recovery to collective agency, where women who have experienced loss become part of the structures that support others.
Women at the centre of Manipur’s social fabric
Manipur is often described as a society with strong women’s public presence and economic agency, particularly among Meitei women. From its all-women markets to historic movements such as the Nupi Lan and the Meira Paibi collective, women have long played a visible role in shaping social and civic life.
At the same time, this visibility exists alongside structural inequalities. Formal political representation and institutional authority remain largely male-dominated, even as women continue to anchor local economies and community networks.
In conflict settings, this role becomes even more complex. While precise data on widowhood and child loss is limited, reports from recent years indicate that women and children are among those most affected — not only through direct violence, but through displacement, loss of income, and long-term caregiving responsibilities.
A long-term response to an ongoing reality
For organisations like MWGSN, this context shapes the nature of their work. Their role extends beyond immediate relief into long-term rebuilding, helping women navigate both the emotional and material consequences of conflict.
Rooted in lived experience, the network has grown from within affected communities themselves. Its work reflects a quieter form of response, one that focuses not on resolution, but on continuity.
From loss to livelihood, women in conflict-affected Manipur are rebuilding their lives through community-led initiatives. Photograph: (Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network)
It does not erase loss. Instead, it creates the conditions in which life can be rebuilt around it — through work, shared support, and the steady restoration of everyday stability.
For many women in Manipur, that process is ongoing. And in that ongoing effort, networks like MWGSN remain not just support systems, but anchors in uncertain times.
