Ima Keithel: At first glance, Ima Keithel looks just like a normal market. From morning till evening, you will get to see huge queues of people here. Apart from fruits and vegetables, you will get everything you need here. But in this market spread over three-storey buildings, you will get to see more than 5 thousand stalls. Its speciality is not just the size of the market. You will be surprised to know that there are only women selling goods here.
You might also be shocked to know that this market is completely run by women. This market is in Imphal, the capital of Manipur, the northeastern state of India. The women selling goods here say that they live like sisters. This is a very beautiful place to work. People have faith here.
World's largest market
Even more surprising is that this market is the largest market in the world, where only women are allowed to sell goods. In the local language, Ima Kaithal means - Mother's Market. Only men can come to this market for shopping. This market located in the heart of the city is also cheap in terms of shopping.
500 years old market
The history of the Ima Kaithal market is about 500 years old. This market was built in the Kanglipak Kingdom of the 16th century. During that time only crops were bought and sold in this open-air market. Men were recruited here in Manipur in 1533 to fuel the war effort against neighbouring Burma and China. According to experts, women first started selling fish, vegetables and other products here, after which this market was run by women only.
When the state government announced the construction of a shopping mall here in 2003, the women protested for several weeks. Seeing the protest, the government had to withdraw its decision.
Special recognition attached
However, a special belief is also attached to this market. Here only those women who are married are allowed to sell goods. Apart from this, a woman doing business here has to be nominated by a retiring vendor working in the market. In January 2016, a 6.7-magnitude earthquake caused serious damage to the market and it took almost two years to rebuild.
