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1971 women victims Violated and forgotten

June 10, 2014

The Global

Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict is no doubt a laudable and timely initiative !e a"e, neve"theless, su"#"ised by the

fact that the sto"ies of the sexual violence committed a$ainst %en$ali $i"ls and &omen du"in$ the 'ibe"ation !a" of %an$ladeshin 1()1 des#ite its ove"&helmin$ scale and ma$nitude have not found a #lace in the summit The decision to exclude the

%an$ladesh ex#e"ience is one &e cannot su##o"t and &e feel it is ou" "es#onsibility to "emind the o"$anise"s of the summit thatthe sac"ifices of %en$ali $i"ls and &omen du"in$ the &a" of 1()1 &e"e one of the $o"iest of the 20th centu"y

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*n 1()1, co"e inte"national c"imes of the li+es of $enocide, &a" c"imes and c"imes a$ainst humanity &e"e committed a$ainst the%en$ali #o#ulace u"in$ the cou"se of the &a", 10 million #eo#le fled ac"oss the bo"de" into *ndia as "efu$ees -1. The /"avda, in

Janua"y 1()2 "e#o"ted the loss of th"ee million lives at the hands of the invadin$ /a+istan a"my-2.  co""es#ondent of the Times

in  Pakistan: The Ravaging of Golden Bengal  3uoted a S official admittin$ that &hat the %en$alis had endu"ed &as the mostincredible, calculated thing since the days of the Nazis in Poland -5.

The occu#yin$ /a+istani milita"y and its local auxilia"ies in the fo"m of the /eace Committees, 6a7a+a", l %ad" and l Shams

fo"ces s#ecifically ta"$eted amon$ othe"s, the %en$ali $i"ls and &omen of %an$ladesh The ove"a"chin$ ob8ective, i""es#ective ofthe outcome of the &a", &as to ensu"e the #"esence of the /un8abi 9ie, /a+istani: im#"int o" $ene so to s#ea+ on the futu"e

$ene"ations of the %en$alis, the conse3uence of &hich "a#e and othe" fo"ms of sexual violence &as used as &ea#ons of &a"

The late "che" ; %lood, the S Consul Gene"al based in ha+a at the time, sent a se"ies of sec"et tele$"ams to the hi$hestofficials of the me"ican $ove"nment info"min$ them of the at"ocities committed by the /a+istan a"my du"in$ and immediately

follo&in$ <#e"ation Sea"chli$ht on =a"ch 2>, 1()1 esc"ibin$ ho& the do"mito"y of female students at ha+a nive"sity &as

attac+ed, %lood &"ote? @ Rokeya Hall, a dormitory for girl students, as set ablaze and the girls ere machine!gunned as they fled the building" The attack seemed to be aimed at eliminating the female leadershi# since many girl student leaders resided in

that hall"A-4.

The #olicy of "a#in$ and mu"de" of %en$ali &omen and $i"ls continued th"ou$hout the &a" &hich lasted nine months *ncidentsof hund"eds of %en$ali &omen bein$ held ca#tive inside milita"y b"othels "un by the /a+istan milita"y &e"e "e#o"ted in the

inte"national media at the time ->.

6eve"end ;enta"o %uma an sian 6elief Sec"eta"y fo" the !o"ld Council of Chu"ches lea"ned fi"sthand the state of affai"s du"in$a t&oB&ee+ mission in &a" to"n inde#endent %an$ladesh #on his "etu"n to Geneva, %uma on Janua"y 1), 1()2 held a #"ess

confe"ence &he"e he info"med 200,000 &omen had been "a#ed by /a+istani soldie"s and they &e"e no& bein$ ost"acised by the

 #"edominantly conse"vative %en$ali community-.  !a" 6ehabilitation <"$anisation led by Justice ;= Sobhan had beenfo"med in &a"Bto"n %an$ladesh =ale+a ;han, one of the many social &o"+e"s assistin$ the "ehabilitation #"ocess had he"self

"ead de#ositions of mo"e than >,000 &omen &ho had been sexually violated-). Geoff"ey avis, a medical $"aduate f"om

ust"alia, a""ived in %an$ladesh in =a"ch 1()2 unde" the aus#ices of *nte"national /lanned /a"enthood, the D/ and the!F<-. avis stayed in %an$ladesh fo" six months du"in$ &hich he conducted nume"ous abo"tions and at the same time offe"ed

t"ainin$ on #"o#e" abo"tion #"ocedu"es and techni3ues-(. Fis ex#e"iences led him to conclude that the $ove"nment estimate of

200,000 "a#es &as a conse"vative one avis inte"vie&ed many /a+istani /<!s &ho &e"e behind ba"s at a #"ison in Comilla-10. These inte"vie&s "evealed that they &e"e unde" inst"uctions f"om the to# b"ass of the /a+istan a"my that a $ood =uslim &as

duty bound to fi$ht anyone othe" than his fathe"-11. This #"om#ted them to im#"e$nate as many %en$ali &omen as they could so

that the"e &ould be a &hole $ene"ation of child"en in East /a+istan bo"n &ith !est /a+istani blood -12.

The $ove"nment of the ne&ly inde#endent State &as dete"mined to #"ovide 8ustice to the millions &ho had suffe"ed at the hands

of the /a+istani milita"y and thei" local auxilia"ies T&o #ieces of le$islation &e"e #"oduced in 3uic+ succession to t"y #e"sons

a$ainst &hom the"e &e"e alle$ations of committin$ &a"time offences <n =a"ch 2, 1()2, the t"ials of local %en$alisimmediately ensued in )5 t"ibunals all ove" %an$ladesh unde" the %an$ladesh Collabo"ato"s 9S#ecial T"ibunals: <"de", 1()2-15. /"evailin$ all odds, by <ctobe" 51, 1()5 out of the 5),4)1 accused, the t"ials of 2,4 #e"sons &e"e com#leted )>2 #e"sons

&e"e convicted and sentenced and the "emainin$ 2,0( #e"sons "eceived ac3uittals -14. <ut of the convictions one #e"son "eceivedthe death #enalty-1>.

The %an$ladesh Gove"nment on =a"ch 2>, 2010 fo" the #u"#oses of the detention, #rosecution and #unishment of #ersons

res#onsible for committing genocide, crimes against humanity, ar crimes and other crimes under international la announcedthe constitution of the fi"st *nte"national C"imes T"ibunal unde" the *nte"national C"imes 9T"ibunals: ct, 1()5 The second

*nte"national C"imes T"ibunal 9*CTB2: &as established on =a"ch 22, 2012 Till date, the T"ibunals have handed do&n a total of

nine ve"dicts

lthou$h, the cha"$es and ve"dicts a$ainst the accused unde" the %an$ladesh Collabo"ato"s S#ecial T"ibunals and the

*nte"national C"imes T"ibunals did not shed s#ecific focus on the ta"$eted "a#in$ and +illin$ of %en$ali &omen and $i"ls du"in$

the 'ibe"ation !a" of 1()1, a "e$"ettable t"end that is also some&hat ty#ical of othe" inte"national t"ibunals, some of the accused befo"e the T"ibunals have been found $uilty fo" committin$ the c"ime of "a#e o" instance, in cases, The $hief Prosecutor %ersus

 &eloar Hossain 'ayeed i-1. and The $hief Prosecutor %ersus (bdul )uader *olla-1)., the accused &e"e found $uilty by the

*nte"national C"imes T"ibunal of committin$ "a#e as a c"ime a$ainst humanity

The o"$anise"s of the Global 'ummit to +nd 'eual %iolence in $onflict -./0 has claimed that it is @the largest gathering ever

brought together on the sub1ect, ith a vie to creating irreversible momentum against seual violence in conflict and #ractical

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action that im#acts those on the ground"A-1. <u" 3uestions to the o"$anise"s a"e unambi$uous and sim#le? !e"e the sto"ies ofsuffe"in$s of countless %en$ali $i"ls and &omen du"in$ 1()1 not &o"th tellin$ at the $lobal summitH ont the %en$ali victims of 

sexual violence dese"ve to be "eco$nised and "ehabilitated by the &o"ld communityH !hen it comes to ac+no&led$in$

immeasu"able c"imes committed fou" decades a$o, of all thin$s, time is not on ou" side

 IIIIIIIIIIIIII 

*nte"national C"imes St"ate$y o"um 9*CS: is an inde#endent $lobal net&o"+ of ex#e"ts, activists and o"$ani7ations, includin$

 blo$ #latfo"ms, established &ith the #u"#ose to unde"stand, "esea"ch, and su##o"t the 8ustice #"ocess initiated to end im#unity,establish "ule of la&, and ensu"e accountability fo" the inte"national c"imes committed in 1()1 in %an$ladesh

B See mo"e at? htt#?o#inionbdne&s24com20140101()1B&omenBvictimsBviolatedBandBfo"$ottenKsthash*+/S)1T+d#uf