“Amader dhomonite Biranganar rokto, ei rokto kono din o britha jete dibona (It is the war women’s blood that runs in our veins, we shall not let it be in vain)” – one of the many fiery slogans that reminds nearly all of us of the suffering of women during the 1971 Liberation War. This particular slogan, however, is one of the few that actually speaks of the “Birangana” (war women) in an inclusive manner. From my personal observation, almost every other patriotic slogan of the Liberation War was formed from a very patriarchal approach.
Yes, patriarchal. One can think me an extremist feminist, but I do believe it is high time to point out all the injustice that we have done towards the Biranganas all these years.
Have we actually looked into the “violence against women” part of 1971’s Liberation War from a gendered perspective? Or are we content with just mentioning the sufferings of the war women/female freedom fighters to gain their sympathy, but not their empathy? Have we ever tried to relate to their pain or have we been using their suffering to justify our Liberation War?
Priota, a member of the organisation VDay Dhaka, shared her experience of meeting a few war women for the first time, specifically the war women in Sirajganj, who were given shelter by a local community leader. When she asked the women for permission to have a photo taken with them, one of them replied: “Please don’t take photos with us; we are Birangona. Everyone thinks we are the bad ones, but those who tortured us, nothing has been done about them.”
War women who managed to survive started living their “life of shame” after Bangladesh was liberated. I know a wonderful lady who was lucky enough to find a family from my locality, despite the fact that she was raped by Pakistani soldiers in Chittagong in 1971. Sheuly aunty (a pseudonym) agreed to share her experiences when I approached her, but told me: “You can’t mention my real name. My husband knows what happened but you need to understand the reality of our society too. Our society has yet to be liberal enough to accept me as I am.”
She pointed out an interested little fact, hearing me repeatedly utter the word Birangana. “I don’t like that term. It is too close to Barangana,” Sheuly, who served as a Bengali literature teacher in Chittagong, told me. I couldn’t help myself but wonder how that the term Birangana was indeed close to “Barangana,” a term referring to women who serve in brothels.
Several feminists have told me they also prefer not to use Birangana, believing it to be defamatory. Some women’s rights activists prefer “Nari Muktijodhdha” (female freedom fighter) while some prefer simply “Muktijodhdha.”
Rape has always been wielded as a weapon, even in times of war, but with all due respect to male freedom fighters and the state, I ask them – was picking up a gun the only way to prove one’s contribution to the Liberation War?
Our women indeed fought the war, from perspectives that a man couldn’t embrace even if he tried. Taraman Bibi fought in the battlefield while many took up cooking duties, nursing the wounded, and inspiring their fathers, brothers, husbands and loved ones. Many sang songs of patriotism, and of course, there were the thousands of women who were subjected to the heinous acts of sexual abuse, all for their country’s liberation.
There is no data on how many women were raped, how many had committed suicide, how many had fled to other countries since their families never accepted them, or how many gave birth to war babies. It’s plausible to say that war women never come up and share their experiences so that it could be included in such data.
Why are they so reluctant? Maybe it’s because they knew that they would never be treated in a respectful manner. Maybe they didn’t want any sympathy for their contributions, rather they want to be accepted and recognised for what they are, for how they suffered.
On January 27, the High Court asked secretaries of law, finance and Liberation War affairs ministries, Parliament Secretariat, and the chairman of the Law Commission, to explain why the female victims of torture and abuse during the Liberation War of 1971 would not be recognised by the state. The court also issued two rules seeking explanation on why a gazette notification would not be published by March 26 regarding these war women and why the state’s failure in providing privileges to the victims for the last 42 years should not be declared illegal.
After 42 years, a possibility finally arrives in a liberated country with a constitution that specifically states: “Women shall have equal rights with men in all spheres of the State and of public life.” I desperately hope the government won’t take another 42 years to recognise these women. We owe them the recognition while they are still living.