At 46, Iron Lady of Manipur Irom Sharmila gives birth to twins on Mother's Day

Bengaluru, May 13: Irom Sharmila, known across the world as the Iron Lady of Manipur for her 16-year long hunger strike against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the state, delivered twin girls on Mother's Day in Bengaluru.

The 46-year-old had settled in Kodaikanal after her marriage with Desmond Coutinho in 2017. She gave birth after 35 weeks of pregnancy through a C-section delivery at Malleshwaram branch of the Cloudnine hospital at 9:21 am on Sunday.

The activist and her husband, Goan-born British national Desmond Coutinho, have named their daughters Nix Sakhi and Autumn Tara.

The babies weighed 2.16 kg and 2.15 kg, respectively, at the time of the delivery. Their obstetrician-gynecologist, Dr Sripada Vinekar said that both Sharmila and the babies were doing fine and that the mother was resting with her two bundles of joy, with her husband by her side.

The couple wanted to keep the development a private affair.