Irom Sharmila - Iron Lady Of Manipur

Irom Chanu Sharmila, a civil rights activist is known to fight against the human rights violation in Manipur. She is also known as 'Iron lady of Manipur. Irom Sharmila who was the youngest of nine siblings always wanted to be a doctor but chose to be a rights activist to wage war against the armed forces special powers act (Afspa) that allegedly gives soldiers the “licence to kill”.  Sharmila is an author and poet in her native Meiteilon language. She also has her literary works which include the Fragrance of Peace – a collection of 12 poems of “passion, protest and hope” that she wrote before starting the marathon fast. Sharmila is a holder of various prizes. They include the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights in 2007, a lifetime achievement award from the Asian Human Rights Commission and the Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize, both in 2010. Amnesty International declared her a Prisoner of Conscience in 2013