No more politics? Irom Sharmila plans to lead a peaceful life as an ordinary woman post marriage

After her marriage, noted human rights activist Irom Sharmila wants to live like an ordinary woman.

Chennai, July 13: Marriage is a 'big' thing for most women, of course for men too. Life inadvertently changes for good or bad post marriage for almost all of us. Same might likely to happen in the life of noted human rights activist from Manipur, Irom Sharmila, who is all set to tie the knot with her longtime beau, Desmond Coutinho, in Tamil Nadu's hill town of Kodaikanal, in mid-August.

On Wednesday, Irom and Desmond, who is a British citizen, visited the sub-registrar's office in Kodaikanal to submit papers for their marriage. The marriage will be registered under the Special Marriage Act as both belong to different religions.

Desmond told Mumbai Mirror, "The wedding will happen on August 11 or 12 in a small service at the Church in Tirunavmmalai city in TN."

When asked about her post-marriage plans, Irom told The Hindu that she wished to lead a peaceful life as an ordinary woman in Kodaikanal.

The 45-year-old activist, who broke her 16-year-long hunger strike against the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), last year, did not, though, rule out her participation in struggles for women's rights in the future.

After losing her maiden election, which she contested from Manipur, early this year, Irom decided to stay away from the limelight. In fact, she left her hometown Imphal in March this year.

Since her "shocking" defeat in the Manipur Assembly Elections 2017, where she managed to get just 90 votes, Irom is on a south India tour. In fact, she celebrated her 45th birthday in Kerala on March 14.

After breaking her fast last year, Irom formed her political party--the Peoples' Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA). The PRJA fought elections from three constituencies in the 60-member Manipur Assembly.

The party failed to win a single seat. After her "humiliating" defeat, Irom decided to quit active politics. However, she stressed that family life did not mean that she won't fight for the rights of the people of Manipur as an activist.

Irom added that her crusade against the AFSPA will continue. She said, "I will continue my struggle, not as a politician but as a civil activist. After my marriage, I'll lobby international bodies to urge India to scrap the draconian law AFSPA."

"In September I am putting up the AFSPA issue in the International Youth Conference (IYC) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. I will be lobbying for more than 400 youth from various SAARC countries of the world," Irom informed.

Post marriage, the couple plans to settle in Kodaikanal because they like the peaceful atmosphere of the hill town.

OneIndia News