Ima Keithel – Through the Feminist Lens

There are two perspectives of the status of Meitei women in Manipur in the colonial times given by T.C Hodson in “The Meitheis” mentioning that “The women hold a high and free position in Manipur. All the internal trade and exchange of the produce of the country was managed by them”. And the other being E.W Dun stating that Meitei women, though industrious and useful, occupy inferior social position. The paper shall try to analyse these two validations with respect to the Meitei women in contemporary times. In particular, the paper shall use the approach of radical feminist like Kate Millet who mentions that sex/gender is the basic source of oppression of women and feminism should work towards the elimination of this system. The study shall try to understand this feminist standpoint in the context of the organised vendors of the Khwairamband Bazar, Manipur, India with special study and reference to the Ima Keithel, ‘Ima’ meaning ‘mother’ and ‘Keithel’ meaning ‘market’ in Manipur language. This market occupies a unique position not only in Manipur or India but also in the world because only the women are allowed to sell here. Apart from the dual burden of household chores and looking after the family, the Meitei women contribute in the economic affairs of their society. Throughout history, they have always come in the forefront to combat any form of mistreatment/social evils (in Nupi Lal I & II). They have been known to be very vocal socially and politically