'Iron Lady' Irom Sharmila Gives Birth to twins on Mother's Day

Guwahati, May 5, 2019:

Somewhat remarkably, the Iron Lady of Manipur, Irom Sharmila, 46, has given birth to twin girls on the auspicious occasion of Mother's Day. The social activist gave birth after 35 weeks of pregnancy through a C-section delivery in Cloudnine hospital in Bengaluru on Sunday.

The activist and her husband, Goan-born British national Desmond Coutinho, have named their daughters Nix Sakhi and Autumn Tara and the babies weighed 2.16 kg and 2.15 kg, respectively, at the time of birth.

Sharmila told Indian Express that this is a new beginning for her. She further added that she and her husband simply wanted the babies to be healthy.

On 26 July 2016, Irom Sharmila, who had been on a hunger strike since 2000, announced that she would end her fast on 9 August 2016. She also announced that she would contest state elections in Manipur.

The objective of her fast and entering politics is to fight for the removal of AFSPA as she has asserted "I will join politics and my fight will continue.