An Indian woman who is continuing her 14-year hunger strike protesting against rights abuses was released from a hospital jail yesterday.
Irom Sharmila, who is also known as the Iron Lady of Manipur because of her determined, non-violent protest, began her hunger strike in November 2000 after witnessing 14 people get killed by the army at a bus stop, reports India Today.
The bus stop, located near her home in Manipur, is subject to the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
AFSPA gives Indian forces the power to search, enter private properties and shoot on site, according to Jamaica Observer. The act covers most of northeastern India and the restive state of Kashmir. Critics call the act an abuse of human rights.
Sharmila was arrested a few days after witnessing the attack because authorities believed she was doing the hunger strike to commit suicide. Upon her arrest she was sent to a hospital jail in Imphal, where she was force-fed through a nasal drip.
Although she is released from the hospital 14 years later, Sharmila has no intentions of stopping her hunger strike.
"Unless and until my demand is fulfilled I will not touch anything else through my mouth," she tells hundreds of journalists and well-wishers outside the hospital, as Jamaica Observer reports.
Her release means she cannot be force fed anymore, according to India Today, and her supporters, although happy she's released from jail, fear her hunger strike will endanger her life.