Violence in silence : the plight of birangana in post-independence Bangladesh
department or school: Arts and Social Sciences, Irving K. Barber Faculty of (Okanagan)
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCO
creator: Jahan, Nujhat
issued: 2024-05-13T21:49:03Z
issued: 2024
related degree: Master of Arts - MA
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Sexual assault was one of the many violent crimes that took place in Bangladesh during the Liberation War of 1971 which resulted in the nation’s independence. The Pakistani army targeted millions of Bengali women and used sexual violence as a weapon of war against them, aiming to abolish traditional culture and destroy their dignity. In post-independence Bangladesh, these victims were given the title birangana, which translates into English as brave women. Despite numerous witnesses, the instances of women subjected to sexual violence were not accurately documented. The national narrative of the event remains male-centric. This gap, a form of historical silence, has influenced the lives of biranganas, making it difficult to reveal their personal history in post-independence Bangladesh. This master’s research utilizes an archival method, specifically examining historical photographs, newspaper cuttings, and published oral testimonies to investigate the memories and experiences of these women in post-independence Bangladesh. This thesis argues that the initiatives taken to restore them in society are layered with silences, including the unrecognized sacrifices they made, the economic injustices they faced, and their constant struggles for official recognition. This thesis relates these layers of silence that continue to exist in society to various forms of violence that often go beyond observable forms. Drawing upon the scholarship of renowned historian Michel-Rolph Trouillot, it explores the phenomenon of historical silence while also relying on the insights of Pierre Bourdieu and Johan Galtung regarding the concept of violence. In order to understand these layered silences against biranganas in Bangladesh today, I argue that one needs to understand the multiple forms of violence that they have encountered every day and how the events of 1971 shape their lives.
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/88290
note: Violence in Silence: The Plight of Birangana in Post-independence Bangladesh by Nujhat Jahan BSS, University of Dhaka, 2017 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Interdisciplinary Studies) (Power, Conflict and Ideas) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) May 2024 © Nujhat Jahan, 2024 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis entitled: Violence in Silence: The Plight of Birangana in Post-independence Bangladesh submitted by Nujhat Jahan in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts Dr. Margaret Carlyle, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Supervisor Dr. Deana Simonetto, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Co-Supervisor Dr. Jennifer Gustar, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Sakiru Adebayo, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Emily Murphy, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies University Examiner iii Abstract Sexual assault was one of the many violent crimes that took place in Bangladesh during the Liberation War of 1971 which resulted in the nation’s independence. The Pakistani army targeted millions of Bengali women and used sexual violence as a weapon of war against them, aiming to abolish traditional culture and destroy their dignity. In post-independence Bangladesh, these victims were given the title birangana, which translates into English as brave women. Despite numerous witnesses, the instances of women subjected to sexual violence were not accurately documented. The national narrative of the event remains male-centric. This gap, a form of historical silence, has influenced the lives of biranganas, making it difficult to reveal their personal history in post-independence Bangladesh. This master’s research utilizes an archival method…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2024-09
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0443094
language: eng
degree discipline: Interdisciplinary Studies
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Carlyle, Margaret Eileen
contributor: Simonetto, Deana
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/88290