War Heroines Speak

A book that tells the heroic and sorrowful stories of 7 women survivors who were subjected to rape and torture by Pakistani army during the 1971 Bangladesh war. In 1971, Pakistani army unleashed a bloody, brutal and barbaric genocide of Bengalis in then East Pakistan. Pakistan finally surrendered and East Pakistan was liberated as Bangladesh on 16th December, 1971. The world does not know the extent of the systematic rape and sexual violence on Bengal women and girls that took place during this 9-month war. This book is published in English for international audiences to bring awareness to these war crimes. The book is translated from 'Ami Birangona Bolchi' - an original anthology compiled by Dr. Nilima Chowdhury in Bangla in 1994. No other book captures the true impact of the war in rural and urban Bangladesh - as well these simple stories. In these quiet narratives, the young women and children clearly express: how they went from an idyllic childhood to the horrors of genocide; how they continued to live with painful memories and social exclusion after the war. Very few survivors exist today from this holocaust of 1971. Most died at the hands of Pakistani army. These testimonies establish how Pakistan used systematic and planned rape as a weapon of war - as early as 1971. Dr. Nusrat Rabbee hopes this translated book will help the world to understand the history behind this genocide and to hold Pakistan accountable for wartime crimes.