IRDSO initiated this project with the goal of strengthening the single women (gun-widow-survivors) as an important stakeholder in Peace Building rather than remaining as a victim, and bringing economic liberation through creation of SHGs. Its aim is to bring about a change in the way the single women view themselves and their future, the society’s and their respective families’ prejudice and attitude towards them, and to enable them to cope with their irremediable loss. In a bid to bring about positive attitude and changes so as to help the single women to move forward in rebuilding their lives, IRDSO planned a series of gender rights and human rights education programs. Additionally capacities were built for formation of self-help groups (SHGs) to support livelihood initiatives.

Rationale:
The multifaceted conflict and armed struggle in Manipur remains unresolved till date. There is clear evidence that the civil populace in Manipur is often caught in crossfire between state and non-state actors, and women and children are hit the hardest and suffer most in this conflict. They bear the brunt of both the emotional and socio-economic impact of violence and many women have become impoverished after the killing of their husbands who were the sole breadwinners of the family. They find it very difficult to look after their children, in providing even basic schooling and health care.

An intervention for breaking the cycle of armed conflict is very important for reducing violence and this is possible by making the victims stakeholders in peace building initiatives and involving them in framing programmes and policies that ensure human security as a fundamental right.

The formation of a strong organisation/network directly addressing the issue of conflict resolution by the gun widow survivors is an effective action to combat gun violence and reduce the number of widows.

Outcome:
As a result of IRDSO’s effort, the single women from Yairipok, Wangjing and Irong villages were organized. To build their morale, strengthen their confidence and self image frequent sharing meetings were conducted wherein women could share their hardships and discuss both domestic and societal attitude towards them. Initially, women just came together and cried and cried. Slowly, they opened up. Later on, to capacitate and broaden their perspectives, workshops on gender rights, human rights, conflict analysis and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 were conducted. IRDSO facilitated the women in forming 3 SHGs and after training them on accounts management and other SHG practices, each group was supported with a revolving fund of Rs. 50000/- from which the SHG members were given small loans ranging from Rs. 2000 to Rs. 5000 to start income generating activities such as kitchen-gardening, poultry, piggery,  detergent and soap making, weaving  etc.  The women have started earning and are now able to support their children and family. Their in-laws have started treating them with care and respect.  

As part of the effort to make them stakeholders in peace-building process, these single women groups initiated a network called “Gun Widow Survivors Association” and have appointed their Convener and Co-convener. The Gun Widow Survivors Association have also networked with a State level Association called Extra Judicial Execution’s Victim Families’ Association, Manipur (EEVFAM), which is fighting for rights, justice and peace building in the State of Manipur. This enables them to participate in the district and state level discussions on conflict resolution.
 
Challenges:
These gun widows are living within a strong and complex patriarchal social structure that imposes many barriers on them, that makes it difficult to organise them.  Some of the widows could not join the process as their mobility is controlled by their in-laws. The in- laws thought that if their daughter in law mixed with other folks or moved out of the family, she might forget the memories of the husband and remarry bringing dishonor and shame to the family. Since they are single parents, they are also responsible for everything in their households with little time to spare for coming to group meetings.

Another challenge was limited resources that prevented inclusion of gun widows from other districts who expressed interest in joining the. It is also difficult to capacitate those women who couldn’t venture out without someone accompanying them.

Lastly, finding the elusive justice that they are seeking from the authorities is a great challenge.  With the limited financial sources, if they can get justice, and be economically empowered, that will be a big achievement.