Learning in Limbo: Psychological Distress and Educational Discontinuity Among Displaced Girls in Manipur
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66635/hxaja416Keywords:
internally displaced girls, Manipur, psychological distress, educational discontinuity, conflict, gender, education in emergenciesAbstract
This paper examines the intersecting effects of psychological distress and educational discontinuity among girls displaced by the ethnic violence that began in Manipur in May 2023. It adopts a structured critical narrative review and secondary-data synthesis rather than presenting invented primary findings. Evidence was drawn from peer-reviewed studies, humanitarian situation reports, international education-in-emergencies standards, and recent scholarship published mainly between 2020 and 2026. The analysis is organized through a gender-responsive socio-ecological framework that connects conflict exposure, displacement conditions, family disruption, school exclusion, community relations, and institutional response. Manipur-specific research reports substantial levels of post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and social distress among internally displaced people and adolescents, while humanitarian reporting identifies extensive displacement of school-age children and continuing barriers to stable education. The synthesis shows that distress and educational discontinuity are mutually reinforcing. Fear, grief, sleep disturbance, hypervigilance, shame, and uncertainty can reduce concentration, attendance, motivation, and academic self-efficacy. At the same time, prolonged absence from school removes routines, trusted adults, peer networks, safeguarding systems, and a future-oriented sense of identity that can protect mental health. Girls face additional risks arising from restricted mobility, domestic and caregiving work, menstrual-health constraints, safety concerns, gender-based violence, digital exclusion, financial pressure, and the possibility that temporary withdrawal becomes permanent dropout. The paper argues that reopening access alone is insufficient. Effective recovery requires safe and flexible learning pathways, accelerated and bridge education, psychosocially supportive classrooms, confidential referral systems, transport and documentation support, menstrual-health facilities, community engagement, teacher preparation, and continuous gender-disaggregated monitoring. A multilevel policy framework is proposed for government agencies, schools, relief-camp administrations, civil-society organizations, and communities. The central conclusion is that educational continuity should be treated simultaneously as a right, a protection mechanism, and a core component of mental-health recovery for displaced girls in Manipur.
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