Irom Sharmila, 42, a woman with unkempt black hair and a disarming smile, has long advocated for the repeal of India's Armed Forces ( Special Powers) Act, or AFSPA, which gives the Indian Army legal immunity for its various brutal actions. She has been arrested again and again since starting a hunger strike in November 2000. "I have spent 14 years of my life chewing my tongue just for violence on all sides to end", she said.
My Report for US-based Women Under Siege Project
