A survivor, but blinded in a vicious domestic assault in 2011, Rumana Monzur has made a remarkable recovery, finishing her master’s degree and preparing to enter law school this fall.
Two years after the brutal attack by her husband, the University of British Columbia (UBC) Fulbright scholar has now learned to read braille and to use adaptive technology.
It has allowed her to complete and successfully defend a thesis about climate change in Bangladesh, Toronto-based The Canadian Press reported on Wednesday.
She has now decided to change disciplines, enrolling in the UBC’s law school. She says it will allow her to help women like her who are targeted by domestic violence, especially those who must navigate the Bangladeshi legal system.
An assistant professor of international relations at Dhaka University, Rumana was attacked by her former husband Hassan Syed Sumon in front of their daughter at her parent’s Dhanmondi residence on June 5, 2011 when she returned home on a trip. Hassan tried to gouge up her eyes and chew her nose off.
The story made headlines in Bangladesh, Canada and elsewhere, fuelling a debate about violence against women in the country. People from all strata stood for Rumana and demanded exemplary punishment of the tormentor.
Rumana, who lives on the university’s campus with her parents and her six-year-old daughter, says she would have never thought she would have been able to recover and finish her studies in just two years, but she credits her friends, the university community and her strong faith in religion.
She says she rarely thinks about the attack that left her blind, and prefers to think of herself as a survivor rather than a victim of domestic violence.
The victim was taken to India and Canada for treatment, but doctors in both the countries failed to recover her eyesight.
Hassan was an unemployed engineer and lived at his father-in-law's house. According to Rumana, he disapproved of her foreign scholarship from the very beginning.
The incident ultimately led her to divorce Hassan, who later reportedly committed suicide at a hospital’s prison cell in December the same year.
I want justice!
While undergoing treatment at LabAid Specialised Hospital, Rumana told journalists on June 13: "He bit my face and chewed off part of my nose. The way he held my hand, I could not tackle him. He beat me up so severely that it bled. Blood also covered the floor."
He attacked her from behind when she was working on her personal computer. "My daughter was busy drawing. He first pulled my hair and then wanted to gouge out my eyes with his fingers,” Rumana said.
Rumana returned to Vancouver with her father on July 5 that year, and was joined by her mother and daughter shortly after. She had to undergo four surgeries there but to no avail.
But she continued her studies.
Suspicious Hassan
The former husband of Rumana was arrested on June 15 and later grilled in a case filed by the victim’s father on June 6.
Hassan claimed that Rumana had an extramarital affair with an Iranian man, whom Rumana met in Canada. However, residents of Saint John's College on the campus of her university dismissed the allegation as false.
On June 21, Rumana told journalists that Hassan used to torture her on a regular basis. "He had many complexities and so he always tormented me psychologically. My conjugal life became a suffering for me."
She said she had hid the incidents of torture from anyone for the last 10 years. He always did such things and she used to forgive him as he sought apology.
His body was found lying on a blanket in the bathroom on December 5 at the prison cell of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital. He was transferred there from Dhaka Central Jail on November 23 as his health deteriorated due to poor eyesight.
No injury marks were identified on the body during an autopsy, doctors said.
After death of Hassan
Following the death of her former husband, Rumana, in a media statement provided by the UBC public affairs, said: “I don’t have much information to comment on the situation but it was shocking news to me.”
“The last six months have been very difficult for me and this news has not made my situation any easier. My focus continues to be on my recovery and taking care of my daughter and my family. I won’t be speaking publicly on this development because I am not comfortable given the lack of information.”
