Irom Sharmila, Manipuri rights activist, who has been on a hunger strike since 2000, has decided to end her fast on August 9. She also announced that she would contest state elections in Manipur. She has been demanding the repeal of controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act ( AFSPA). Sharmila, 44, who is known as the Iron Lady, was on a fast for the past 16 years in Manipur . Addressing the media, she said, “I will break my fast as the government has failed to give any positive response... I will fight elections to resolve the issues.” Assembly elections in Manipur are scheduled in 2017.

During the last 16 years of her fasting, a nasal tube on Sharmila's face became a common feature, in most of her photographs. "Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, had resorted to fasts while making certain demands," she has said. Justifying the use of fast as a weapon to achieve her goal of repealing AFSPA. Irom Chanu Sharmila is a civil rights and political activist. Born in 1972, she is the youngest of nine siblings who grew up in Manipur. She gave up her dreams of becoming a doctor and decided to fight against the human rights violation in Manipur. Irom Sharmila has the distinction of being the world's longest hunger striker, keeping steadfastly to her cause.