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From the valiant sacrifice of Pritilata Waddedar, who swallowed cyanide pills to avoid capture by British forces in 1932, to the spying and frontline battles of Khasi freedom fighter Kakon Bibi in 1971, women were at the forefront of our struggles for freedom against colonization and oppression.

In 2024, as the country rose against years of repression and autocratic rule, it was again the women who paved the way for a new Bangladesh. They were on the battlefield chanting slogans, stopping police vans, breaking blockades, and taking to the streets at night while men could not. The women were the beacon that penetrated the darkness.

Mothers came out with food and supplies tending to injured students defying bullets and tear gas. The student protesters were their children, after all. While men, due to their social position in the hierarchy, were predominantly silent or persecuted, it was the women who spoke up. From domestic workers to grandmothers in mofussils and villages, their words brought down the dictator through daily conversations in both domestic and public spaces. The seeds of freedom were planted through the ordinary speech of our women, who did not shy away from revealing the oppression.

We witnessed initiatives like Mayer Daak, a group of women whose family members had faced enforced disappearances; they became one of the most enduring symbols of defiance and calls for justice during the autocratic rule. They staged demonstrations and faced possibilities of persecution but could not be stopped.

Living up to that ideal, female students during the anti-discrimination movement broke out of their dorms, defying the authorities, and shouted at the security forces, calling them murders "Khuni! Khuni!"

It was Abu Sayeed's mother who asked the question, "Amar betak marlu kene?" a question that reverberated the essence of oppression and triggered resistance in the public imagination. It was the cries of these mothers that truly moved us, making us question the legitimacy of the autocracy that frequently misused women's liberation narratives as an excuse or token to justify its terrorizing policies.

It was the mothers and sisters who cut through those narratives. The students from girls' dormitories, the sisters on the streets fighting back, organizing, planning, and strategizing they were not always in front of the camera and therefore, their struggles and labour are often invisibilized. They worked quietly and fiercely to offer us a new dawn.

Pritilata Waddedar was a revolutionary who swallowed cyanide pills to avoid capture by British forces.

During the 1971 Liberation War Kakon Bibi engaged in espionage and participated in frontline battles.

Women were seen as beacons of hope during the 2024 movement because they led protests, penetrated the darkness of repression and took bold actions when men could not.

In the 2024 protests mothers provided food, supplies and care to injured students while defying bullets and tear gas.

During the 2024 movement, through conversations in domestic and public spaces, women revealed oppression and brought down the dictator.

"Mayer Daak" was a group of women whose family members faced enforced disappearances and who profested for justice.

"During the anti-discrimination movement in 2024, female students broke out of their dorms, defied authorities and called security forces "Khuni" (murderers).

Abu Sayeed's mother asked this question which exposed the essence of oppression and triggered public resistance.

During the 2024 uprising, men were mostly silent because their social positions made them more vulnerable to persecution.

Women's efforts such as organizing and strategizing, happened quietly and were not captured on camera. That's why, their struggles were often invisibilized.

In 1932, women like Pritilata Waddedar made significant sacrifices, with Pritilata choosing to swallow cyanide pills to avoid capture by British forces. In 1971, during the Bangladesh Liberation War, women like Kakon Bibi, a Khasi freedom fighter, engaged in espionage and frontline battles. In 2024, women played a crucial role by taking to the streets, chanting slogans and leading protests against the government.

During the 2024 uprising, women were at the forefront of the struggle, leading protests, chanting slogans, stopping police vans, and breaking blockades. They also took to the streets at night when men could not, symbolizing hope and resistance. Women acted as beacons of light in the darkness, guiding the movement and inspiring others with their courage and determination.

Mothers played a critical role by providing support to injured student protesters, bringing food and supplies while defying bullets and tear gas. They stood by their children, the student protesters and ensured they received care. Their actions symbolized nurturing defiance, as they were both caregivers and courageous fighters, rejecting the silence imposed by social norms. The significance of their actions lay in their dual role as nurturers and warriors, challenging the oppressive system while caring for the future generation.

Initiatives like Mayer Daak, led by women whose family members had been forcibly disappeared, became powerful symbols of resistance and the fight for justice. Despite the risk of persecution, these women staged demonstrations and demanded accountability. Their actions became enduring symbols of defiance because they embodied the resilience of those who refused to stay silent in the face of authoritarian oppression especially in the context of enforced disappearances during the autocratic rule.

Women challenged the narratives constructed by oppressive regimes by speaking out and exposing the injustices they faced. Through everyday conversations, from domestic spaces to public gatherings, women planted the seeds of freedom by openly revealing the oppression. They defied the regimes' attempts to use women's liberation narratives as a token to justify terror. Women like the mothers of the disappeared and the protesting students cut through these false narratives, asserting their voices and actions as a form of resistance that went beyond mere symbolism.

forefront = background

colonization = occupation

oppression = tyranny

autocratic = democratic

predominantly = partially