A war heroine can’t beg for survival

It is disheartening to know that a brave woman who had endured torture during Bangladesh's War of Independence is now facing eviction from her house for failing to pay her rent. According to a report in this daily, Birangana Shila Guha said she had been abused by her landlord for money and, not finding any help or way out, was contemplating suicide. The 70-year-old now has to beg for survival in the streets of Sreemangal.

It is disturbing enough that her supreme sacrifice in 1971 has not been officially recognised yet. She has not been listed as a Birangana even though 50 years have gone by since those days of horror. The declaration was supposed to come by December 16 last year, but it has not happened till date. That she is going through such trouble and harassment at this stage of her life also speaks volumes about the negligence of the state about our poor elderly individuals.

Shila Guha's story of misfortune is as horrendous as that of other girls and women who had been taken to the Pakistan Army camps. She survived that experience by a stroke of luck. Her second round of tryst with fate began when her father refused to take her in after the war ended, as she had been picked up by the Pakistanis. Her life since then has been one of despair, denial and betrayal. Even her husband, when he came to know about her war-time ordeal, left her. She has been fending for herself and her daughter since then.  

Shila Guha saw a ray of hope when the prime minister, in a video conference on June 20 last year, reportedly assured her that she would be accorded due respect, and her days of misery would end soon. In this regard, Sreemangal Upazila Nirbahi Officer Nazrul Islam told The Daily Star that her documents had been sent to the authorities concerned, but he had yet to receive any reply. We hope the government will soon intervene in this regard, and Shila Guha will finally find peace and recognition. Meanwhile, she needs succour on an urgent basis in the form of cash and kind. It's a shame for the nation when a war hero has to beg for survival.