1971, Rape And Bangladesh

A Bangladeshi blog, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying rips to bits a paper in the Economic and Political Weekly – “Losing the Victims: Problems of Using Women as Weapons in Recounting the Bangladesh War”.

Ms. Bose then tries to cast doubt on the account of rape victim Ferdousi Priyabhashini, an educated woman and well-known sculptor. Ms. Bose’s argument here is somewhat muddled, but it appears that she is claiming that Mrs. Priyabhashini was less of a rape victim and more of a willing participant. Ms. Bose writes, “It is highly unusual for someone of her background to admit to have been a rape victim, especially in the conservative societies like Bangladesh.” Ms. Bose goes on, “According to her own account, in 1971, Ferdousi Priyabhashini was a mature woman, a divorced mother of three, working for many years.”