SEXTANT: masculinities, sexualities & decolonialities

ABSTRACT

This article critically examines the marginalisation and silencing of Bihari women in Bangladesh, with particular focus on their displacement and statelessness in the aftermath of the 1971 Liberation War. Drawing on theoretical frameworks of historical silencing, exile and trauma, with a particular focus on Trouillot’s (1995) conceptualisation of historical production, it argues that the continued invisibility of Bihari women in both national and international discourses is symptomatic of enduring power dynamics. By analysing Yasmin Saikia’s ‘Nurjahan and Other Women’s Stories’ (2011), the article further explores how nationalist legacies have perpetuated their exclusion from historical narratives. This article offers a conceptual analysis of the selected text, asserting that the ongoing marginalisation of Bihari women is not simply an oversight, but rather a sustained consequence of hegemonic forces that systematically erase their experiences. It underscores the critical need for an inclusive national memory, especially in light of the structural exclusion and historical erasure of the Bihari community in Bangladesh, which inhibits meaningful discourse on the lived realities and traumas of Bihari women. The article further explores how the framework of oral history can serve as a potent tool of counternarrative, offering a platform for silenced Bihari women to articulate their violent pasts. In doing so, it facilitates a process of healing by enabling the narration of their stories, thereby addressing the gaps and blind spots in the nation’s collective memory.

KEY WOrDS

Bihari women, historical silencing, exile, Bangladesh Liberation War, national memory

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.