Taramon Bibi Bir Protik ( – 1 December 2018) was one of the two female freedom fighters in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

obtaining the

Bir Protik Bir Protik (, ) is the fourth highest gallantry award in Bangladesh. Recipients This award was declared on 15 December 1973. A total of 426 people have received the award so far, all for their actions during the Bangladesh Liberation War, liber ...

award. She engaged in direct combat during the

liberation war of Bangladesh 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 ...

in 1971 as a member of the

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 ...

(Liberation Army) which was a guerrilla force that fought against the Pakistan military.

Biography

Bibi was born in Shankar Madhabpur village,

Kurigram District Kurigram District () is a district of Bangladesh in Rangpur Division. The district is located in northern Bangladesh along the country's border with India. Under British rule, the area was organized as a mahakuma and was not established as a dis ...

to Abdus Sobhan and Kulsum Bewa. She was hired by the Mukti Bahini as a help cook and clean the camp when she was 16. She was interested in the war effort and asked Havildar Muhit in infantry regiment of Sector 11 to train. He trained her on the usage of .303 British rifle and submachine guns. She was in Sector 11 under the leadership of sector commander

Abu Taher Abu Taher (; 14 November 1938 – 21 July 1976) was a Bangladeshi military officer and war hero. He first served in the Pakistan Army, and later defected to the Bangladesh Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War. He crossed into India around ...

. Taramon Bibi died at her residence at Char Rajibpur Upazila, Kurigram, at 1:30am on 1 December 2018.

Award

After the war, she was awarded Bir Protik (Symbol of Valour) by Bangladesh government in 1973. But her whereabouts were unknown and the award was never handed over to her. She herself remained unaware of this until 1995 when a researcher from

Mymensingh Mymensingh () is a metropolis, metropolitan city and capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of the Old Brahmaputra River, Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center ...

discovered her. She was finally given her award by then Prime Minister of Bangladesh

Khaleda Zia Begum Khaleda Zia (born August–September 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh and the second fema ...

on 19 December 1995.

Personal life

Bibi was married to Abdul Majid. Together they had a son, Abu Taher, and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bibi, Taramon 1950s births 2018 deaths People from Kurigram District Women in the Bangladesh Liberation War Recipients of the Bir Protik Bangladeshi women activists Mukti Bahini personnel Date of birth missing