Birangona: Women of War

The piece uses innovative physical performance, movement and animation interwoven with films of the Birangona women's accounts to tell the story of the Birangona women.

Komola Collective was formed in 2012 by Leesa Gazi, Filiz Ozcan, Sohini Alam and Caitlin Abbott. Their collective roles include writer, director, actor, musician, illustrator, facilitator, composer, and designer. Komola Collective is a London-based arts company dedicated to telling the stories that often go untold – stories from women's perspectives. We want to revisit history. Challenge social taboos. Unearth myths. Retell known stories. Question accepted beliefs.

Birangona means Brave Woman. In the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh from Pakistan, more than 200,000 women and girls were systematically raped and tortured as part of the Pakistani army's war strategy. After Bangladesh gained independence, the war effort was acknowledged as a popular struggle. ‘Freedom Fighters’ were championed, but these women were ignored by a society in which rape is considered a source of shame for the victims. Marked with dishonour, they were silenced, ostracised and forgotten. 42 years on, Komola Collective wants to help break this silence.

Synopsis:

Moryom is a young woman who loves the taste of tamarind, the smell of her grandmother, and holding her husband's hand. It is 1971, the year that the war of independence tears through Bangladesh, and no part of the country is untouched. The Kalbosheki Storm is coming. In a small village, Moryom and her family await its arrival. Every day, they hide from soldiers in the pond behind their house, while across the country, women are disappearing from streets and homes. When the storm finally hits, it will tear away everything.