Author: Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, Department of English, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology - Academia.edu, Google Scholar, ORCID, ResearchGate, SciProfiles

Abstract: »Neelima Ibrahim’s (1921–2002) A War Heroine, I Speak (2017), translation of Ami Birangona Bolchi (1994), is a reportage on birangonas, the women who were raped and tortured by Pakistani armed forces and their collaborators in the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh. The word birangona means war heroine, an honorific that the first government of independent Bangladesh bestowed on them to give dignity and integrate them into society. The birangonas had undergone unbearable torture not only during the war but also after independence; they encountered another horrible phase of their life—societies and their families abandoned them. In the socio-political-religious-cultural context of post-Independence Bangladesh, the birangonas were persona non grata. Yet, they needed the mental support of their family members, neighbors, and relatives to heal themselves from the wounds of traumatic experiences, but they were denied access to their society. This article, thus, examines and explores how Ibrahim re-presents the birangonas and recounts their traumatic experiences and how they were treated in postwar Bangladesh. I argue that they navigated trauma and negligence through resilience as they faced their family, society, and the nation of Bangladesh.« (Source: South Asian Review)

Wikipedia: History of Asia: History of Bangladesh, History of Pakistan | Sex and the law: Rape / Wartime Sexual Violence | War: Bangladesh Liberation War / Birangona, Rape during the Bangladesh Liberation War | Writing: Bangladeshi writers / Nilima Ibrahim