Bangladesh’s independence was achieved through lots of sacrifices. Millions of people sacrificed their lives to make a gift of freedom to future generations in an independent country. The contribution of women in earning freedom was immense. Many of the women fought the war in battleground whereas many supported the cause through other activities.
Dr Makhduma Nargis was a Freedom Fighter who contributed to the war by providing medical services at refugee and training camps in Agartala.
She was an active member of Bangladesh Students’ Union at Dhaka Medical College. She actively participated in the Six-Point Movement, the Eleven-Point Movement and the 1969 Mass Uprising.
She was also a member of the then East Pakistan Mahila Parishad, which later became Bangladesh Mahila Parishad.
In her professional life, Dr Nargis is a medicine specialist. She was project director of the Revitalization Community-Based Health Care Initiative in Bangladesh. After that, she worked as chief coordinator of the Community-Based Health Care initiative by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
Dr Nargis retired from government service in 2016.
“I was present when Bangabandhu delivered his historic speech on March 7 at the then Ramna Race Course. I went there with Kabi Sufia Kamal,” Dr Nargis told Dhaka Tribune.
During that time, she worked as a civilian medical officer in the Pakistan Air Force. After March 1, when Bangabandhu asked the nation to wage a non-cooperation movement against the military junta, she never joined her workplace at Kurmitola.
But, due to her bold stance, “it became really dangerous for me to live in the country and move around freely,” said Dr Nargis.
On March 25, she was at her in-law’s house in Naya Paltan. After that, she stayed in different places before going to Agartala on May 5 with her infant daughter and other family members.
Dr Nargis recalled how she took part in the Liberation War as a physician.
She worked in many camps in Agartala. From May to December, she was there serving the people in need as a medical practitioner.
“I have many stories to tell about our Liberation War. I still can recall two incidents that I remember with pride,” said Dr Nargis.
While serving as a doctor, she had to treat the patients at refugee camps as well as camps for the Freedom Fighters.
One day, two adolescents of age 15 or 16 came to her for age certificates. “The boys were very fragile-looking,” she said. “The boys asked me to give them age certificates so that they could join the war.”
Dr Nargis stated that, to take military training, they were each required to acquire that certificate. But she declined, saying that she could not give them false certificates. Then the boys replied that they had come from a village of Kapasia in Gazipur, where they had witnessed lots of brutality carried out by the Pakistani army.
“The boys said they had seen many things. They saw people being brush-fired in that area by the Pakistani army, many women and girls being raped and the entire region being destroyed. They wanted to go to the battlefield and kill at least two or three Pakistani army personnel as revenge before they died,” said Dr Nargis.
Another proud aspect of the whole journey was serving the wounded people coming from Bangladesh, many of whom were injured on the battlefield.
“I used to dress the wounds. I looked into the eyes of the Freedom Fighters – they were so determined and devoted to their cause. They wouldn’t make a sound despite the pain they felt when I used to work on their wounds. They thought that it was a great chance to serve their country,” she added.
