Location: Imphal, Manipur, India

We get to hear more from Madam Irene Salam, Retd. Professor from Manipur University, as she shares a brief account of the books she has published so far and the projects she has taken part in. She talks about the surprising results of one of her international projects which was to measure the resilience of Manipuris between the age group of 16 to 19.

A known perception in Manipur is that the status of women of Manipur is much higher than that of the rest of India. Her book titled “Women of Manipur – An Alternative Perspective” shows that although the statement is true to a certain extent, it contains a lot of contradictions. Madam Irene shares her findings about her research on the status of women of Manipur. She talks about the spirited nature of the women which gives them the courage to stand at the fore front of any protest and to take action whenever they feel some injustice has been done in the society.

Madam Irene also brings to light the hardships many women of Manipur face in spite of the known perceptions. As an example, she shares about the life of women vendors of Ima Market who have to leave their homes early in the morning without having meals, carrying hefty perishable goods to earn their livelihood. And when they get home, the household responsibilities are again not shared by anyone.

Tune in to listen more to what Madam Irene Salam found on her research on women of Manipur and about the challenges she faced when she came to Manipur for the first time.

Catch up her first part of the interview at  S03E03 FindingTheVoices with Irene Salam, Retired Professor from Manipur University