Militant outfit orders use of traditional dress in Manipur schools

The Kanglei Yawol Kann Lup asked the schools in Manipur to make a traditional dress compulsory for girl students in Standard IX and X.

A militant outfit on Friday asked educational institutions in Manipur to make a traditional dress locally known as 'phanek' compulsory for girl students in Standard IX and X from the next academic session.

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The Kanglei Yawol Kann Lup (KYKL) said in a statement in Imphal the decision to make 'phanek' compulsory for girl students was taken after its cadres conducted a survey and found that there was nothing wrong with the prescribed uniform".

The outfit had earlier asked girl students of Standard XI and XII to wear 'phanek' to their educational institutions some years ago. Since then, the students had been using this traditional dress in spite of severe protests from different quarters.

Official sources said authorities were aware of KYKL's "new instructions" to the educational institutions but refused to comment on the issue.