WHY NOT

About the film

The Bangladeshi Liberation war of 1971 resulted in countless victims and survivors of sexual harassment in the country. But their story is still not well known. They are known as the ‘Birangana’ (courageous women/war heroine). Bangladesh’s first president gave the name Birangana to show them respect. However, after the war, these women did not receive compensation and were persecuted and stigmatized by their own. The Statue of Peace in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul South Korea reminds me of the Birangana women of Bangladesh. In order to meet with them, I go to Bangladesh. Now their story begins.

Filmmaker's Statement

I am a Bengali who became a Korean citizen in 2009. Living in South Korea as a citizen, I learned about the rape through sexual slavery experienced by many women who were mobilized as Japanese military comfort women during Japanese colonial rule. The Bangladesh Liberation war of 1971 witnessed similar atrocities against women. I made this documentary to allow the female victims of war rape in Bangladesh to tell their stories in their own voices. By transcending time and space through the voices of activists who work with the comfort women victims in Korea, I also sought to explore the questions of why women suffer due to war and why the countries who perpetrate war crimes are not fully apologizing for this.

About the director

Mamun was born in 1974 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He came to Korea in 1998 and since 2001, started a human rights movement for migrant workers. I am currently working as a cultural activist in the Asian Media Culture Factory.