Interested in human rights, she worked with different organisations and groups to gain field exposure and grounded understanding of abuse in Manipur.

[2] During the process, Sharmila spoke to survivors of gang rapes, and parents and children of people killed by the Indian armed and paramilitary forces.

[11] Three days after she began her strike, she was arrested by the police and charged with an "attempt to commit suicide",[9] which was unlawful under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at that time, and was later transferred to judicial custody.

"[7] Following her procedural release on 2 October 2006 Sharmila went to Raj Ghat, New Delhi, which she said was "to pay floral tribute to my idol, Mahatma Gandhi."

Later that evening, Sharmila headed for Jantar Mantar for a protest demonstration where she was joined by students, human rights activists and other concerned citizens.

[14] In September 2011, Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) (CPI ML) openly stated its support for her and for repeal of AFSPA, calling for nationwide agitation.

[15] Following that in October 2011, the Manipur Pradesh All India Trinamool Congress announced their support for Sharmila and called on party chief Mamata Banerjee to help repeal the AFSPA.

[23] Sharmila kept her vow of neither entering her house nor meeting her mother until the government repeals AFSPA and went to continue her fast at Shahid Minar, Imphal on the same day of her release.

[34] In October 2016, she launched a political party named Peoples' Resurgence and Justice Alliance to contest two Assembly constituencies of Khurai and Khangabok.

[40] In 2019, after the death of Gauri Lankesh, Sharmila criticized the NDA government, accusing it of disregarding people's sentiments when making policy decisions.

[41] After the MHA tweeted removal of the AFSPA from swathes of the North East the Chief Minister of Manipur called for a day of celebration to which he would invite Irom Sharmila as a guest.

[43] IronIrom: Two Journeys : Where the Abnormal is Normal (2012, with Minnie Vaid and Tayenjam Bijoykumar Singh) Ojas S V, a theater artist from Pune, performed a mono-play titled Le Mashale ("Take the Torch"), based on Irom Sharmila's life and struggle.

[44][45] On Thursday 17 August 2017, Irom Sharmila Chanu married her British partner Desmond Anthony Bellarnine Coutinho in Kodaikanal, a hill station in Tamil Nadu.

[46] On Sunday 12 May 2019, at the age of 47, she gave birth to twin daughters in Bengaluru, Karnataka, named Nix Shakhi and Autumn Tara.