A Life Tossed Aside Like a Rusted Coin: KWOHR Condemns Justice Denied to Nengtinlhing Haokip

The Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR), Kangpokpi District, has issued a powerful and emotionally charged press statement condemning the brutal sexual violence inflicted upon Nengtinlhing Haokip, a young Kuki woman whose life was tragically cut short after enduring unimaginable trauma for over two years.

Describing her testimony as “heartbreaking and soul-rending,” the organisation stated that Nengtinlhing was subjected to violence at the age of 18—an age when a young woman should have been stepping into adulthood with hope, dignity, and protection from the state.

KWOHR categorically rejected narratives that reduce rape to questions of honour, morality, or momentary rage. “Rape is not about sex. It is not about a woman’s honour. It is about power, brutality, and the systematic dehumanisation of women,” the statement asserted.

The organisation paid tribute to Nengtinlhing’s extraordinary courage and resilience, noting that she bore severe physical, mental, and emotional trauma for more than two years before her death on 10 January 2026. Her survival, despite the crushing weight of violence and neglect, was described as a testament to her strength rather than the system meant to protect her.

KWOHR did not limit accountability to the perpetrators alone. It sharply criticised the social betrayal by those who allegedly handed her over to her rapists, and the institutional failure of the justice system that allowed her case to languish unresolved until her final breath.

“Where is the State? Where are the courts? Where is the rule of law?” the statement asked, condemning a system that treated a young girl’s life as disposable, “tossed aside like a rusted coin.”

The organisation further warned that such injustice fuels public rage and despair but insisted that this collective anger must be transformed into sustained resistance against violence and impunity. Nengtinlhing’s life, it said, must become a rallying point for the fight to protect every girl who deserves to live, grow old, and die with dignity—not fear.

Concluding with a solemn reminder, KWOHR affirmed:
“Every life counts. Even in the face of devastation, cruelty, and inhumanity, every life counts