Rape of Non-Bengali Women in Erstwhile East Pakistan (1971)

Abstract

This article addresses the painful subject of rape of non - Bengali women by Bengali terrorists supported by Awami League and India in 1971 Civil War. It is an attempt to draw academic attention to this neglected chapter in the sad history of secession of East Pakistan from Pakistan with the objective to develop understanding of and spread awareness about the gruesome consequences of ethnic and nationalist hatred that not only provoked brutal rape of non -Bengali women but also justified it. The conduct of individual soldiers in war is significantly impacted; they are embroiled in reprehensible behavior that they may normally see as brutal and depraved in times of peace. The issue of rape in war has drawn academic attention since the mass rapes in the Bosnia - Herzegovina conflict. However, the current literature has paid little attention to the rape of non-Bengali women by Bengali terrorists in 1971 in erstwhile East Pakistan now called Bangladesh. In response to this major gap in the literature, this paper represents an attempt to examine the rape of non-Bengali women as a political and military weapon via evidence and psychological theoretical frameworks enabling an analysis of ethnic hatred prompted by Bengali nationalism that had come to replace the Bengali identity of Muslim nationalism. This is an attempt to break the silence on the vulnerability of women in wartime situations and their subsequent suffering as it increases the possibility of sexual violence with impunity against them.