''Birangona'' () is the title awarded by the

Government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

to women

raped Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person w ...

during the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

by the

Pakistan army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

Razakar Razakar (رضا کار) is etymologically an Arabic word which literally means volunteer. The word is also common in Urdu language as a loanword. On the other hand, in Bangladesh, razakar is a pejorative word meaning a traitor or Judas. In Paki ...

paramilitaries, and their local collaborators.

History

On 16 December 1971, Bangladesh won its independence from

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

through the

. There was mass

rape during the Bangladesh Liberation War During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, members of the Pakistani military and Razakar paramilitary force raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bengali women and girls in a systematic campaign of genocidal rape. Some of these women died i ...

, with an estimated 200,000-400,000 women raped by the

Pakistani Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

and their collaborators. On 22 December 1971 the Government of Bangladesh declared the title ''Birangona'', or war-heroine for the women who had been raped during this time. President

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

asked Bangladesh to "give due honour and dignity to the women oppressed by the Pakistani army" and called them his daughters. Yet, many of them committed suicide, a section of them left the country to work as servants abroad, and a great many were killed in the hands of the unskilled mid-wives trying to abort

war babies War children are those born to a local parent and a parent belonging to a foreign military force (usually an occupying force, but also military personnel stationed at military bases on foreign soil). Having a child by a member of a belligerent ...

. This prompted the government to set up ''seba sadans'' (service homes) to give them clinical support. Kendrio Mohila Punorbashon Songstha (Central Women Rehabilitation Organization) was established in January 1972 to rehabilitate these violated women with technical and humanitarian support from International Planned Parenthood, the International Abortion Research and Training Centre, and the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

; notable activists at the homes included the poet

Sufia Kamal Begum Sufia Kamal (20 June 1911 – 20 November 1999) was a Bangladeshi poet, feminist leader, and political activist. She took part in the Bengali nationalist movement of the 1950s and civil society leader in independent Bangladesh. She led fe ...

and the social worker

Maleka Khan Maleka Khan (; born ) is a Bangladeshi social worker and activist for the rights of the '' Birangana'', women raped during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. Early life and career Khan trained as a social worker, and later served as the sec ...

Later, the government provided them with

vocational training Vocational education is education that prepares people for a Skilled worker, skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self em ...

and launched a campaign to get them married. This led to accusations that Bangladesh was trying to hide the ''Birangonas''. The ''Birangonas'' have often been ostracised by society and their family members.

Activists Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

for

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

have called for the ''Birangona'' to be declared Freedom Fighters (

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

). Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association and Mitali Hossain filled a petition with the

Bangladesh High Court The High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh (), popularly known as High Court, is one of the two divisions of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the other division being the Appellate Division. It consists of the Chief Justice of Bangla ...

to upgrade the status of ''Birangona''. On 27 January 2014, the High Court asked the government of Bangladesh why it should not be directed to do so. In January 2015, the

parliament of Bangladesh The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the unicameral legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for women. Elected ...

approved a proposal to upgrade the status of ''Birangona'' to freedom fighter status. On 23 October 2015, the Bangladesh government declared 43 ''Birangona'' to have been Freedom Fighters for the first time. Liberation War Affairs Minister

AKM Mozammel Haque AKM Mozammel Haque (; born 1 October 1946) is a politician from Bangladesh, representing the Bangladesh Awami League party. He was the Minister for Liberation War Affairs from 2014 to 2024 and is also a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing ...

said that they would now enjoy the same government benefits as Freedom Fighters. With the latest inclusion in December 2020, a total of 400 ''Birangonas'' received the status of freedom fighters. Sixteen ''Birangonas'' were added to the list at the 73rd meeting of the National Freedom Fighter Council, taking the total number to 416 in June 2021.

Artistic depictions

* '' Birangona: Women of War'' is a play by the British theatre group, the Komola Collective and

Leesa Gazi Leesa Gazi (; born 14 August 1969) is a Bangladeshi-born British writer, playwright, theatre director and actress based in London. Background Gazi's father fought during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Career Gazi is the co-founder of theatre a ...

. * ''

Ami Birangona Bolchhi AMI or Ami may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media *AMI (Romanian singer), a Romanian singer and songwriter *AMI-tv, a Canadian TV channel **AMI-télé, the French-language version *AMI-audio, a Canadian audio broadcast TV service *''Ami Magaz ...

'' (I am Birangona speaking) is a book by

Nilima Ibrahim Neelima Ibrahim (11 October 1921 – 18 June 2002) was a Bangladeshi educationist, littérateur and social worker. She is well known for her scholarship on Bengali literature but even more so for her depiction of raped and tortured women in the ...

which had several stories that she had collected from rape victims. *
War Heroines Speak
' is the English translation of '' Ami Birangona Bolchi '' by Dr. Nusrat Rabbee
Birangana a Grass Root level organization in South 24 Pgs, India
*''Seam'' is a poetry book by

Tarfia Faizullah Tarfia Faizullah is a Bangladeshi American poet. Born in 1980, she was raised in West Texas. She traveled to Bangladesh in 2010 to interview survivors of rape by Pakistani soldiers during the 1971 Liberation War, the birangona. ''Seam'' (SIU, 20 ...

that focuses on rape in the Bangladesh Liberation war and the Birangana.

References

{{reflist Courage awards Aftermath of the Bangladesh Liberation War Military awards and decorations of Bangladesh Sexual violence in the Bangladesh Liberation War Violence against women in Bangladesh