Woman who has been on hunger strike for 16 years finally set to eat her first meal

A 44-year-old activist Irom Sharmila who has been on hunger strike for nearly 16 years is finally about to eat.
Sharmila started her protest to highlight alleged brutality by India’s military. She has said she will end her fast in August and run in state elections.

Ms Sharmila has not eaten any food voluntarily since November 5 2000, when she began her protest against an Indian law that suspends many human rights protections in areas of conflict.
Three days into her hunger strike, she was arrested on charges of attempting suicide – which is a crime in India.



Prison officials at a government hospital in Manipur have since force fed her through a tube in her nose.
‘The only way to bring change is electoral process. I will stand as an independent candidate from Malom constituency,’ Ms Sharmila said.

She said the single issue on her agenda would be the removal of the law that allows the military to act with impunity.
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act is in effect in Indian-ruled Kashmir and north-eastern areas dogged by separatist insurgencies.
The law states that troops have the right to shoot to kill suspected rebels without fear of possible prosecution and to arrest suspected militants without a warrant.