Jane Radika (50), who was taken to the UK from Bangladesh in the summer of 1972 when she was only five weeks old, is looking for her mother and identity. In England, Mike King and his wife adopted little Jane, and raised her as their own child. Since she came to know about her past, Jane has been searching for her roots. She recently told The Guardian that more women, like her, are living in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Canada. All of them are children of women from East Pakistan, who have been victims of mass-rape by members of the Armed Forces of West Pakistan, were adopted! These rape victims were later given the title Birangona (Brave Heart).
Historians are of the opinion that a blood-stained history of Bangladesh is involved in the term Birangona. Independent Bangladesh was born after the year-long War of Liberation (against Pakistan) in 1971-72. Bangladesh celebrates its Independence Day on March 26, as the South Asian nation declared Independence from Pakistan in the early hours of March 25, 1971. During the nine months prior to it, Dhaka, Khulna, Mymensingh, Faridpur, Barisal and some other districts experienced bloodbath as the Pakistani Armed Forces brutally tortured people of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan). The Pak Army killed nearly 0.3 million people and raped at least 0.2 million women. The British media reported that around 25,000 rape victims got pregnant.
After the end of the War of Liberation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (March 17, 1920 - August 15, 1975), the founder and first President of Bangladesh, honoured those women with the title of Birangona (or War Heroine). The Ministry of Social Welfare reportedly took the responsibility of orphan children, and started a global campaign for their adoption. Thereafter, Mike King adopted Jena. She was one of the first children to be adopted in 1972.
Jane told the British daily: "The only information I have is that my mother was raped during the War of Liberation. I know nothing of what happened to her afterwards. In my mind, my life started when I was adopted, but that is not so, there was my time in Bangladesh and what happened to my mum when I was created - the violence." The orphanage in Bangladesh from where Jane was adopted shows Radika as her name in the records. However, her mother's name is not there. Her registered address is Women Rehabilitation Programme! Jane believes that she may not find her biological mother.
According to The Guardian, at least 5,000 children were born in Bangladesh after the War of Liberation. Representatives of the orphanage picked up many newborns from the streets of Dhaka and other cities at that period of time. They also visited abortion clinics, and requested rape victims to give birth to their children, and to hand their babies over to them. A number of mothers attempted self-abortion as they did not have access to medical equipment. Many lives were lost as a result of such attempts. Shikha Cappuccino (51) is one of them, as she was born seven months after her mother made a failed self-abortion attempt. Like Jane, Shikha has also failed to trace her mother so far. When Fred and Bonnie Cappuccino, missionaries arranging adoptions for families at home in Canada, heard about Shikha, they decided to adopt her themselves. The couple took Sikha with them to their residence in Maxville, Ontario.
Nayanika Mookherjee, a Professor at Durham University, has penned a number of articles on Birangona women. She has narrated the conflicting experiences of those who endured forced pregnancy at the hands of Pakistani soldiers. "Some women had gladly gone through abortion, relieved not to have to bear a Pakistani baby; others wanted to keep their babies, but were made to undergo abortions. There were those who had endured nine months of hatred towards the pregnancy they carried… Some women cried when their newborn children were given away, while others did not even look at their babies," stressed Professor Mookherjee.
Jane started searching for her biological mother in 2021. She arrived at Tejgaon industrial area in Dhaka, and visited a number of Birangonas. She received a warm welcome from the Birangonas. Jena recalled that three elderly Birangona women were waiting for her. Their eyes filled with tears when they embraced Jane. One woman stroked Jane's face, while another took her into her arms and said: "May Allah always watch over you, my child." She told The Guardian: "Bangladesh, my story and my association with it has always been shrouded in violence and pain. Connected and never forgotten. But finally, I know where I came from, how it looks, smells and feels - and I feel like I have come home." Jane stressed: "Bangladesh and I were created at the same time; it is a piece of me and I am a piece of it - and nothing will ever change that."
Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook
Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter
Boundless Ocean of Politics on Linkedin
Contact: kousdas@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment