1971 liberation war widows struggle for livelihood

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1971 liberation war widows struggle for livelihood

The widows of Bidhaba Palli village live on a paltry government aid By Mizan Rahman Dhaka The sleepy village of Shohagpur in northern Sherpur district - meaning place of married people - turned into widows' land when 187 men were massacred at the altar of Bangladesh's war of liberation on July 25, 1971. Shohagpur, now named Bidhaba Palli (Village of Widows), was jolted out of its slumber on that fateful day by deafening sounds of gunshots of the Pakistani forces as they shot dead 187 innocent villagers who were on their way to crop fields after  offering their morning prayers. This massacre remained unknown to the nation until early 1990s when Bangladesh's media unearthed this tragedy and focused spotlight on harrowing lives of its inhabitants. After coming to the national limelight, the widows were offered various kinds of assistance. "We are getting everything in the form of donation which is most disgraceful for us and surely not befitting the widows of those who laid down their lives for liberating the country," said martyr Ibrahim's wife Hafiza Begum. While giving an eyewitness account of that fateful morning Kapuli Beoya, wife of martyr Siraj Ali, said: "All of a sudden Pakistani forces stormed into our house and opened fire on my husband who was in his twenties then. I was alone and had no money to bury the body of my husband who was lying in a pool of blood. In the afternoon, I saw stray dogs near my husband's body. I could not drive them away as I was almost in a subconscious state of mind." Out of 187 widows only 34 of them are alive now. They are now getting financial help to the tune of 1,600 taka per month including 1,000 taka from Trust Bank, 300 taka as widow or old age allowances and 300 taka from the BRAC Bank. They also receive help from their local lawmaker and Minister Begum Motia Chowdhury who gave them two goats each and other help in cash and kind. Another army and district administration backed initiative titled "Shohagpur Bidhaba Palli Rehabilitation Project" was taken in 2006 under which mushroom farm, winding machine, power tiller and tree plantation schemes were taken.  The army and the district administration have also built a memorial where names of 59 martyrs were inscribed while others remained still untraced. They also protect a mass graveyard that bears the testimonies of the genocide and atrocities carried out by the Pakistani forces and their local agents. Talking to this correspondent, area deputy commissioner Mohammad Nasiruzzaman said that he had proposed a trust from both the government and non- government organisations to ensure a permanent source of livelihood for these widows. When the issue of the trial of 1971 war criminals was raised before the widows, one of them said: "Perhaps God has kept us still alive to see the punishment of the collaborators of the Pakistani forces who killed our husbands. If we can see that the war criminals are marching towards the gallows by the court orders, we shall die with highest consolation and our souls will remain in peace."