How much longer must the Birangonas suffer?

The story of the Birangonas in Bangladesh is one of contradictions – of state recognition on the one hand, and social ostracisation on the other. Though Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman awarded the title of "Birangona" to honour the sacrifices of the women who were systematically tortured during the Liberation War, for five decades, they were subjected to ridicule, harassment and persecution by the society at large – including state institutions – because of their "Birangona" status. In 2015, the government undertook another commendable initiative – 41 Birangonas were gazetted as freedom fighters for the first time. Till then, a total of 448 have been gazetted as freedom fighters.

A recent study by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) reveals the irregularities, complexities and harassment in the process of recognition and provision of benefits to Birangonas. They have to wait for more than three years to be gazetted as freedom fighters, and wait for at least three to six months to start getting an allowance due to bureaucratic delays. It takes more than six years to get a house under the "Bir Nibash" project, which provides accommodation to financially insolvent freedom fighters. The TIB report also mentioned instances of extortion and bribery, adding that applicants did not report the irregularities due to fear of further harassment and delay.

There does not appear to be any systematic plans in place to identify the Birangonas at the local level, and those who do come forward on their own have to jump through numerous bureaucratic hoops and face intrusive questions to access the benefits. Many of the applicants wonder if they will ever see the benefits during their lifetime, despite being prodded over and over to "prove" their eligibility.

Given the circumstances, it is imperative that the government revisit this commendable initiative and remove the numerous hurdles in the process. There needs to be a specific time frame during which the process must be completed. We agree with the TIB recommendation that a specific framework needs to be developed to identify the Birangonas. However, the government must engage with the female freedom fighters and civil society organisations working with them to ensure that the process of identification does not result in further humiliation of the women and their families. The report also suggested that the Liberation War affairs ministry assign specific personnel at local levels to assist in the process of availing all the facilities – starting from the application process to gazette notification. We believe such personnel should receive orientation and gender sensitivity training on how to work with the female freedom fighters.

These women have suffered too much, on too many fronts, for Bangladesh's independence, but they were never treated with dignity. It is high time we started treating these freedom fighters with the respect they deserve.