<i>War heroines look for solace in trial of war criminals</i>
Twenty-one Biranganas (war heroines) of Sirajganj, who survived after being dishonored by the Pakistani military junta and their collaborators in 1971, now eagerly wait to see some of those perpetrators being punished in the ongoing war crimes trial.
Sharing their horrific stories of torture and survival during the War of Liberation, these war heroines longed to witness the verdict against the war criminals before their death.
During the nine-month long war, Pakistani soldiers along with their collaborators like Razakars, Al-Badars and Al-Shams dragged away women from their homes, subjecting them to sexual abuse and extreme physical torture at the army camps.
“I was repeatedly raped and tortured by four Pakistani army personnel who forcibly dragged me away while I was going to the field to feed my brother,” said a war heroine.
Another war heroine said she was picked up from her house by 11 Pakistani army men and Razakars when she was preparing to flee after witnessing the killing of 80 innocent people in her area.
“I can not sleep at night when I recall the number of men, women and children killed in front of me at that time," she said.
Many of these war heroines were officially honoured by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who addressed them as 'mother' at a meeting on the Sirajganj Government College premises in 1973.
There hope for punishing the war criminals was however shattered after Bangabandhu's assassination on August 15, 1975.
In 2010, the Awami League-led government under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set up the International Crimes Tribunal to hold trial of all those who committed gruesome acts like murder, rape, arson and looting during the liberation war.
“This time I am really optimistic about the trial of the war criminals. If required, I am ready to deposit my witness,” said another war heroine of Sirajganj.
She demanded exemplary punishment of the Razakars, Al-Badars and Al-Shams who collaborated with the Pakistani army in committing crimes against humanity in 1971.
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