Clothing, in a state of undress

Even as the video of two stripped-bare women from Manipur went viral, one is reminded again of how wars are constantly fought by men abusing the bodies of women. Rape and sexual violence is a centuries-old war crime, the conflict between men is always played out on its women, too.

- NAMRATA ZAKARIA

Women are, after all, male terrain. You win over a king, a tribe, a country, by shaming and taking over its women. The two women were humiliated through nakedness, even as more stories of rapes are emerging.

The irony is not to be missed. Women are part of dressing the community in the northeast. Unlike the rest of India, women of this region are the main weavers of cloth. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur famously wear garments made by women bending over the loin loom. It is much smaller, hence easy to keep at home, and still a popular activity for local women regardless of there being zero interest in their traditional cultures outside their tribes. I mean, imagine if only Benarasis wore the dazzling Benaras saris, or if only women of Madhya Pradesh wore the chanderi. We would all be poorer for it, not just the weavers of the cloth.