Nagaland, where men are on strike until women go back to the kitchen

By Amrit Dhillon
Updated February 19 2017 - 1:18pm, first published 11:06am
"They threatened me and my children. They said they would burn my house down": Rosemary Dzuvichu, head of Nagaland University's English department. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
"They threatened me and my children. They said they would burn my house down": Rosemary Dzuvichu, head of Nagaland University's English department. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
A bus torched in protests by Naga tribesmen over the election, due on February 1 but postponed. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
A bus torched in protests by Naga tribesmen over the election, due on February 1 but postponed. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
Kohima, the capital of the Indian state of Nagaland. All-male tribal bodies are responsible for social unrest which has seen the torching of government buildings and two deaths. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
Kohima, the capital of the Indian state of Nagaland. All-male tribal bodies are responsible for social unrest which has seen the torching of government buildings and two deaths. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
Rosemary Dzuvichu, right, and colleagues discuss  a press statement by the Naga Mothers' Association. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
Rosemary Dzuvichu, right, and colleagues discuss a press statement by the Naga Mothers' Association. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
Posters put up by tribal groups accusing the state's Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang of attacking Naga culture by championing political rights for women can be seen all over Kohima. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
Posters put up by tribal groups accusing the state's Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang of attacking Naga culture by championing political rights for women can be seen all over Kohima. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
Naga tribesmen cite an article of the Indian constitution which permits them to preserve their distinctive identity in defence of  women's exclusion from politics. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
Naga tribesmen cite an article of the Indian constitution which permits them to preserve their distinctive identity in defence of women's exclusion from politics. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
Nagaland is one of three small states in India's far east where the population is predominantly Christian. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
Nagaland is one of three small states in India's far east where the population is predominantly Christian. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
Naga men wearing yellow necklaces, a symbol of the Angami tribe, wait to block government vehicles in the streets of Kohima. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
Naga men wearing yellow necklaces, a symbol of the Angami tribe, wait to block government vehicles in the streets of Kohima. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
"The only women demanding change are spinsters and divorced women": government employee Matthew Yhoma.   Photo: Amrit Dhillon
"The only women demanding change are spinsters and divorced women": government employee Matthew Yhoma. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
'With no access to resources, how can women function as full citizens?': Rosemary Dzuvichu. Photo: Amrit Dhillon
'With no access to resources, how can women function as full citizens?': Rosemary Dzuvichu. Photo: Amrit Dhillon

Kohima, Nagaland: Nothing ever happens in Nagaland, a predominantly Christian state tucked away amid hilly forests in India's north-east, on the border with Myanmar. But for a fortnight, it has hogged the headlines because angry tribesmen – Nagas belong to 17 main tribes – want to halt the march of history: they want women to stay at home and not enter public life.

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