দেশভাগ ও বাঙালি উদ্বাস্তু নারীর জীবন/ Partition and the life of Bengali refugee women

Abstract

In order to fulfill the heinous plots and political interests of some people, India was partitioned on August 14 and 15, 1947, creating two separate states, Pakistan and India respectively. Due to lack of proper planning and haste, the ancestral habitats of many people were divided, coupled with a situation of religious riots. As a result, millions of people became homeless refugees. This refugee problem not only created a political crisis; it also dealt a terrible blow to the lives of millions of people. Starting from children to the elderly, no one was spared from this impact. However, innocent women were the most affected in the partition situation. In a state created on the basis of religion, women, who were weaker than others and their sensual bodies, became the main targets of attack for those who attacked people of different religions. To escape from these, the once peaceful women, who were once confined to the nest of peace, were forced to flee with their families as refugees. But there was no peace there either, many women were kidnapped and raped on the way, and even after reaching this country, they were forced to live a life of indignity as refugees. The continuous humiliation and violence as refugees gradually strengthened the refugee women from within, and they became vocal in their protest. The entry of refugee women into the outside world to earn a living for the sake of their stomachs caused a crack in the conservatism of society, and the spread of women's education for the sake of earning a living gradually spread awareness about women's freedom and gender inequality, which resulted in increased public awareness and the entire women's society began to awaken. The new century brought the message of women's freedom, which was initiated by the refugee women of that day.