Women freedom fighters' stories usually forgotten

For four months she had fought in the battlefield alongside the young men of her village, yet unlike the male co-fighters, she did not receive the honour of a hero after independence.

Story of freedom fighter Halima Khatun's valour was lost in the one of her capture by the Pakistani army towards the end of June and inhumane torture at the enemy camp till her rescue on December 7, 1971.

Instead of recognising her contribution and sacrifice, the society forced her to hide within the four walls of her home after independence.

In 2000, the Forum for Secular Bangladesh and Trial of War Criminals of 1971, and Proshika first recognised and honoured her.

Halima's story came up yesterday at a ceremony organised by social organisation Ekattur Foundation in association with Mukti, a monthly magazine, at Russian Cultural Centre in the capital's Dhanmondi, to honour the contribution of female freedom fighters.

Physician Makhduma Nargis Ratna, Ameena Begum, Shyamali Nasreen Choudhury, Kazi Rokeya Sultana Raka, Farida Khanam Saki, Majeda Shawkat Ali and Shirin Banu Mitil were also honoured at the programme.

Mitil, who had disguised as a boy to participate in the war in Pabna, explained why she had done so. "Women faced a lot of resistance in participating in the war, but they overcame those barriers in their own way," she said.

However, once her identity was revealed and published in a newspaper in West Bengal, she was not allowed to return to the battlefield on grounds of her safety.

Instead, she was engaged in organising activities in freedom fighters' camps along the Indian border.

"We had taken part in the war not as men or women but because of our responsibility as citizens of Bangladesh," Mitil said.

Recognising the various aspects of the war where women stepped in, chief guest of the programme, HT Imam, political adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said, "Women's role in the Liberation War was greater than men's."

"Have you ever heard of any female collaborator? No women became collaborators," said the adviser, comparing the roles of men and women in the war.

He said the organisations should find out more about less known female freedom fighters and honour them.

Freedom fighter Col Shawkat Ali MP, Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander A Nikolaev and Chairman of Ekattur Foundation Khaled Shawkat Ali were also present in the programme.