SexViolHist Bib: Representations: Literary Texts: Rizia Rahman

»Rizia Rahman (28 December 1939 – 16 August 2019) was a Bangladeshi novelist. She had a number of novels and short stories to her credit. Her works cut across all genres. She was best known for the novel Bong Theke Bangla. She was the recipient of Bangla Academy Literary Award (1978). As of 2018, she had published more than 50 novels and short story collections during her long career.« -- More information: Wikipedia

Rokter Okkhor (Letters of Blood)

I n f o r m a t i o n

»Her fourth novel, Rokter Okkhor, was inspired by an article called "The Prostitutes of Dhaka" which was published in Bichitra. She was unable to conduct research for the book by visiting brothels herself, relying instead on weekly reports from a male journalist to gain an understanding of a sex worker's living conditions. It created a huge stir in Bangladesh upon publication because of its frank depiction of prostitution in the country. In a 2016 translation of the book named Letters of Blood, Rahman said, "I received a lot of praise for the book, but also had to endure an equal amount of abuse."« -- More information: Wikipedia

K e y w o r d s

I. Chronological Index: Modern History: 20^th Century | II. Geographical Index: Asian History: Bangladeshi History | III. Topical Index: Cases: Fictional Victims: Yasmin; Types: Wartime Sexual Violence: Bangladesh Liberation War

B i b l i o g r a p h y

I. Author Index

[Info] Karmakar, Goutam. »Narrating Rape and Resistance: Tracing the Trajectories of Birangona in Rizia Rahman’s Letters of Blood.« Narratives of Loss and Longing: Literary Developments in Postcolonial South Asia. Edited by Nukhbah Taj Langah et al. London 2025: 103-122.

II. Speaker Index