This is what Monalisa Chankija had to say when we asked her how she views women's freedom in Naga society:

This song "Rise, Naga Woman" composed by Theyiesinuo Keditsu, music by Khyochano TCK and Topeni as soloist,  was chosen as the winner for the ‘State Theme Song for Women’ and was released by the State Resource Centre for Women (SRCW) under the aegis of the Nagaland State Social Welfare Board (NSSWB) during a program organised to observe the International Day for the elimination of violence against women.

The song speaks to Naga women and asks them to spread their wings and rise up against discrimination and inspire all of Nagaland and take them to a glorious future.

Jou is the most favoured traditional brew of the Boro people in Assam. It has social, cultural and religious usage but jou for a long time was identified with the community. Particularly the Hindu caste society of Assam looked down upon the indigenous (tribal) people of Assam because of their traditional lifeways that involved making and drinking of jou. But for the Boros, no ritual and custom is complete without it. Traditionally, Boro women were expected to know how to make jou, and therefore, this community knowledge also is held by women.

I am Wekoweu Tsuhah (Akole) and I belong to the Chakhesang tribe of Nagaland. I am a women’s rights activist and a development practitioner, an advocate for gender equality, social and environmental justice. While growing up, I experienced fear and rage as I lived through armed conflict, alcoholism, domestic violence, poverty and these shaped the person I am today. I am passionate about working with people, women in particular; but it is only after I started working with a women’s rights organization – NEN, the North-East Network, did I truly realize and recognize these social injustices.

On my visit to the Leiden Market, I witnessed a scene where the fish sellers were singing in unison with each other. There was a man and woman selling and singing, while scraping herrings. But in my home country, Ghana, the fishermen sing when pulling the nets of fishes out of the water whilst the women await and take the fish away to sell at market like the Elmina fish market. The women are the one that sell and the atmosphere is mostly of chaos.