are, social organisations and non-government organisations are expected to initiate prompt and necessary steps first, in a coordinated way, to identify the war-time rape victims and ‘war babies’ and formulate effective programs aiming to honour them, reducing the disorders resulted from trauma and stigma they sustained and also to make arrangements for providing them with monthly honorarium. It is to be done to remove the scar imprinted not only on the rape victims but also the society and the nation. Therefore, much greater and systematic attention is now needed for their psycho-social protection, we emphasize,” the tribunal said. The tribunal said the state cannot ignore designing programme to remove the stigma of rape by honouring and compensating the victims for the supreme sacrifice they laid and also to provide long-term support to them aiming to see that the ripple effects do not continue to haunt our society and community in the days to come. “Mothers and sisters of this land sacrificed their supreme wealth for the cause of our independence. But in absence of explicit provision and in view of above discussion, we, going beyond the provision of the Act of 1973, cannot order for ‘reparation’ or ‘compensation’ in addition to sentence to be awarded as urged on part of the prosecution.” The government may take immediate initiative of forming ‘Reparation/ Compensation Scheme/Board for war-time rape victims who sacrificed their supreme self-worth for the cause of our independence, the ICT said, adding the authorities concerned may act by awarding compensation to cover costs of their livelihood, funeral expenses, and loss of earnings, mental stress and trauma, aiming to provide special care for ensuring honour and peace in carrying livelihood and also for narrowing the incalculable loss they sustained in 1971. The tribunal termed the case of Kaiser is one those depicting the sufferings of rape victims and war children. “One occurred at the dwelling shed of victim Hiramoni Santal, an indigenous woman and another happened at the army camp, keeping victim Majeda in protracted captivity. Hiramoni Santal could not come on dock to narrate her trauma due to her old age complications. However, her near relative who had opportunity to see the ‘attack’ and one witness testified the facts materially relevant to prove culpability of the accused. Mass rape at the army camp upon Majeda made her pregnant and eventually she gave birth of a daughter. The baby is still alive but as a war baby.” Victim Majeda Begum [P.W.5] and the war baby Shamsun Nahar [P.W.10] have been still struggling for survival. But they both came on dock and narrated the trauma, ignoring social ostracism. They are brave women indeed. Their testimony is a mere part of horrific scenario of physical invasion committed upon the countless women in the territory of Bangladesh in 1971, during the war of liberation by the Pakistani occupation army and their local collaborators said the tribunal. Umme Wara in her article titled “Breaking silence of War Heroines: A Bangladesh Perspective” rightly observed that-“The Pakistani Army knew that if the dignity of Bengalee womanhood could be throttled down, the psychological spirit of the Bengalee nationalism will collapse. So, they extended the horror of the war on the woman. In this sense, the Pak Army used the woman to ravish and rampage the Bengalee entity. It was thought that this in turn will appear as a cultural, political and religious catastrophe in the mindset of the Bengalee nation.” Therefore, we are of the view that war time rape upon women can be seen as rape of whole community. In the case in hand, rape victims Hiramoni Santal and Majeda Begum belonged to pro-liberation culture and community. The perpetrators’ intention was to do wrong with their entire community, by committing mass rape upon them. Keeping it in view it can be concluded that the mass rape committed upon Hiramoni Santal and Majeda Begum was ‘genocidal rape’, the tribunal observed. A recent report titled “saving war babies” published in the Daily Star on 03 December 2014 shows how the Cappuccino representing Canadian philanthropic organisation ‘Friends for the Families in Canada’ saved lives of 15 fragile and premature war babies. Cappuccino said ‘most of the babies were premature, born at seven to eight months, and so they were fragile and weak’. The report says that on July 19, 1972, Bonnie Cappuccino accompanied 15 war babies on a special Air India flight from Dhaka’s Tejgaon (old) airport to Canada. The above inspiring noble initiation made the sacrifice of our brave mothers in 1971 more graceful. It was recognition to our war of liberation through which the nation achieved its independence. We do not know whether any such humanitarian effort was taken by our social and national organisations to save, nourish and rehabilitate the war babies born as result of sexual violence against the Bangalee women, according to the tribunal. To conclude the issue, we prefer to add the observations of our own so that the state, society and non government organisations come forward to hold the war time rape victims close ensuring their socio-economic-psychological rehabilitation, it added. Hundreds of thousands of rape survivors remained socially ostracized and unattended. The nation must raise a collective voice that they are war heroines. They are brave ‘freedom fighters’ as they too sacrificed their supreme self-worth, for the cause of our independence. We recall with laudable appreciation that the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in recognition of their glorified sacrifices, honoured them as ‘war heroines’ immediately after the independence, said the tribunal.
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
ICT for rehabilitation of war heroines, war children:Daily Sun
are, social organisations and non-government organisations are expected to initiate prompt and necessary steps first, in a coordinated way, to identify the war-time rape victims and ‘war babies’ and formulate effective programs aiming to honour them, reducing the disorders resulted from trauma and stigma they sustained and also to make arrangements for providing them with monthly honorarium. It is to be done to remove the scar imprinted not only on the rape victims but also the society and the nation. Therefore, much greater and systematic attention is now needed for their psycho-social protection, we emphasize,” the tribunal said. The tribunal said the state cannot ignore designing programme to remove the stigma of rape by honouring and compensating the victims for the supreme sacrifice they laid and also to provide long-term support to them aiming to see that the ripple effects do not continue to haunt our society and community in the days to come. “Mothers and sisters of this land sacrificed their supreme wealth for the cause of our independence. But in absence of explicit provision and in view of above discussion, we, going beyond the provision of the Act of 1973, cannot order for ‘reparation’ or ‘compensation’ in addition to sentence to be awarded as urged on part of the prosecution.” The government may take immediate initiative of forming ‘Reparation/ Compensation Scheme/Board for war-time rape victims who sacrificed their supreme self-worth for the cause of our independence, the ICT said, adding the authorities concerned may act by awarding compensation to cover costs of their livelihood, funeral expenses, and loss of earnings, mental stress and trauma, aiming to provide special care for ensuring honour and peace in carrying livelihood and also for narrowing the incalculable loss they sustained in 1971. The tribunal termed the case of Kaiser is one those depicting the sufferings of rape victims and war children. “One occurred at the dwelling shed of victim Hiramoni Santal, an indigenous woman and another happened at the army camp, keeping victim Majeda in protracted captivity. Hiramoni Santal could not come on dock to narrate her trauma due to her old age complications. However, her near relative who had opportunity to see the ‘attack’ and one witness testified the facts materially relevant to prove culpability of the accused. Mass rape at the army camp upon Majeda made her pregnant and eventually she gave birth of a daughter. The baby is still alive but as a war baby.” Victim Majeda Begum [P.W.5] and the war baby Shamsun Nahar [P.W.10] have been still struggling for survival. But they both came on dock and narrated the trauma, ignoring social ostracism. They are brave women indeed. Their testimony is a mere part of horrific scenario of physical invasion committed upon the countless women in the territory of Bangladesh in 1971, during the war of liberation by the Pakistani occupation army and their local collaborators said the tribunal. Umme Wara in her article titled “Breaking silence of War Heroines: A Bangladesh Perspective” rightly observed that-“The Pakistani Army knew that if the dignity of Bengalee womanhood could be throttled down, the psychological spirit of the Bengalee nationalism will collapse. So, they extended the horror of the war on the woman. In this sense, the Pak Army used the woman to ravish and rampage the Bengalee entity. It was thought that this in turn will appear as a cultural, political and religious catastrophe in the mindset of the Bengalee nation.” Therefore, we are of the view that war time rape upon women can be seen as rape of whole community. In the case in hand, rape victims Hiramoni Santal and Majeda Begum belonged to pro-liberation culture and community. The perpetrators’ intention was to do wrong with their entire community, by committing mass rape upon them. Keeping it in view it can be concluded that the mass rape committed upon Hiramoni Santal and Majeda Begum was ‘genocidal rape’, the tribunal observed. A recent report titled “saving war babies” published in the Daily Star on 03 December 2014 shows how the Cappuccino representing Canadian philanthropic organisation ‘Friends for the Families in Canada’ saved lives of 15 fragile and premature war babies. Cappuccino said ‘most of the babies were premature, born at seven to eight months, and so they were fragile and weak’. The report says that on July 19, 1972, Bonnie Cappuccino accompanied 15 war babies on a special Air India flight from Dhaka’s Tejgaon (old) airport to Canada. The above inspiring noble initiation made the sacrifice of our brave mothers in 1971 more graceful. It was recognition to our war of liberation through which the nation achieved its independence. We do not know whether any such humanitarian effort was taken by our social and national organisations to save, nourish and rehabilitate the war babies born as result of sexual violence against the Bangalee women, according to the tribunal. To conclude the issue, we prefer to add the observations of our own so that the state, society and non government organisations come forward to hold the war time rape victims close ensuring their socio-economic-psychological rehabilitation, it added. Hundreds of thousands of rape survivors remained socially ostracized and unattended. The nation must raise a collective voice that they are war heroines. They are brave ‘freedom fighters’ as they too sacrificed their supreme self-worth, for the cause of our independence. We recall with laudable appreciation that the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in recognition of their glorified sacrifices, honoured them as ‘war heroines’ immediately after the independence, said the tribunal.
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