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‘How could we stay at home when the whole nation was at war?’
A new exhibition at the Muktijuddho Jadughar reveals the little-known history of the valourous role
women played in our struggle for liberation, writes Piare Ashek-e-Rasul
photos courtesy of Muktijuddho Jadughar
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‘Sultana’s Dream’, an epic novel by Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossein, has passed the hundred year mark since its first publication in the year 1905. The message that it conveyed hundred years ago resonated through the whole century creating revolution among women in our society. And, to pay a tribute to Begum Rokeya and all those great women who have played their respective roles for giving us Bangladesh, Liberation War Museum organised an exhibition.
This exhibition, displaying their works, memorabilia, photos, diary-notes, information, and short biographies started on December 27 and will run throughout the month of January.
Sara Zaker, one of the two co-ordinators of the event, told New Age, ‘This is a step to help people know the other side of our Liberation War, where women weren’t held back by the horrors of wartime atrocities.’
She adds, ‘rather, they fought in the war shoulder-to-shoulder with men, seeking emancipation from the unruly regime, just like all those who believed in the ideology. We salute those brave women who fought for us or were victimised by the Pakistani junta.’
Apart from the contribution of those who fought for women’s rights, the exhibition also portrays the significant role of women for independence from British rule, the 1952 Language Movement, the ousting of Ayub Khan’s regime in 1969 and finally, the Liberation War in 1971. The display is set in chronological order that will help visitors understand women’s role in different movements. In the exhibition, there is a separate corner for Pritilota Waddedwar, an activist who sacrificed her life during one of the sporadic movements against British occupation. The corner displays an account of her life, activities in political parties and her tragic yet courageous suicide to avoid being arrested during one of the demonstrations against the British forces.
Placed on either side of the Pritilota exhibits are displays giving information on lifetime works of some prominent female novelists. Begum Sufia Kamal, who tops the list of all the activists post the Language Movement, suffered imprisonment and torture by the Pakistani junta and these incidents have been very profoundly described with authenticity in the exhibition. Exhibits such as photos, paper-cuts and a few lines from her famous book Ekattorer Dinguli brings the events to life and makes the exhibition more meaningful.
Ila Mitra, another great woman, who suffered persecution, not once but several times, by the Pakistani military regime also has a place in the exhibition. ‘Sadly most of the time the media focuses on the victims of our Independence War, giving them the centre place of all attention,’ says Dr. Sarwar Ali, Trustee and Member Secretary of the Liberation War Museum. ‘However, brave women who dared to fight in the war get recognition to a lesser degree,’ he says.
‘You will find women in different photographs of this exhibition being trained to fight against the occupants and Gobra Camp was one of those training camps that prepared women freedom fighters,’ attests Sarwar.
One such account, narrated by Minara Begum Jhunu and Forquana to Observer, the daily newspaper is on display:
Finally we had to befool our parents. Now we feel sorry for that. But believe us; we could not help doing it. Tell us how we could confine ourselves to our homes when the whole nation was involved in a war of independence? So one day, on the plea of going to see our maternal uncle at Narsinghdi, we along with a cousin left our houses for a cause of which everybody is proud including ourselves.
During the turbulent times of the Liberation War in 1971, women like Jhunu and Forquana participated directly, escaping from their worried parents to receiving training near the Indian border areas.
Taramon Bibi is a Bir Protik who was recognised years after the country earned its liberation and she is a noteworthy example whom the Liberation Museum couldn’t forget.
While many fought directly in the war, a sizeable number of women engaged in activities such as treating wounded fighters and looking after the food for the fighters; one such example is Captain Sitara Begum, another Bir Protik, who participated in many gruelling operations to treat injured freedom fighters. With inadequate arrangements for operations, she used to operate at many camp-hospitals located near the Indian border.
History says it all. Whether it was for participating in the war or just for fleeing the Pakistani army and their collaborators, women fled from their houses. Many of them either died fighting or spent most of those chaotic times by nursing the brave men who were fighting; others were brutally raped and left to die. Those who survived, lived to tell the tales to the next generation and many such accounts are displayed on one corner of the exhibition.
One of the most touching of the displays was a black letter box which had a letter pasted inside as an exhibit. The letter was from a bereaved father of one of the many victimised college girls, who was raped by Pakistani soldiers. The father in his letter to President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman asked him to give shelter to the traumatised girl in the shelter-home and provide rehabilitation to all those who were victims of war crimes.
Clare Hollingworth, a British journalist for the Daily Telegraph, portrayed the brutal tortures and unbearable sufferings inflicted upon women in her reports at that time by moving around the country and reporting directly from the war field. Some of these reports are re-printed and posted in the display frames of the exhibition. Hence, the retrospective reveals that along with their Bangladeshi counterparts women from other parts of the world also felt sympathy and extended their helping hands during the war
Another important figure portrayed in the exhibition is Barbara Das Gupta. The German lady felt the pain of the freedom fighters and as a means of showing sympathy, went to help the injured fighters who, on invitation of the then East German Government, were taken to East Germany for treatment. Put on display is an article written by Barbara for a German magazine, talking about Begum Sufia Kamal’s struggles, obstructions in the war and her role in the war.
Not only that, expatriates living in different corners of the world rallied to protest the war waged by the Pakistanis against the Bengalis. Photographs, in the display, give firm evidence of expatriate women participating in those processions.
From all walks of life, the Liberation War Museum has received many replicas, records, photos and relevant information to enrich their exhibition and in addition it has taken effort to salvage wartime documents. But they think they don’t have enough to draw a clearer picture of our Liberation War. They have fervently urged all to contribute whatever they have regarding the freedom struggle. In that process, the museum can reach its target in presenting a complete visual history of the independence. Still, with the existing collections, they are hoping to relive the past. That’s why the slogan of this exhibition stands ‘Phirey dekhun Ekattor, Ghure darak Bangladesh’.
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