Komala Collective

The Kalboishakhi Storm is coming. It's 1971, and the war of independence
tears through Bangladesh. In a small village, Moryom and her family await its arrival. Every day they hide from soldiers, whilst across the country women are disappearing from streets and homes. When the storm finally hits, it seems it will tear away everything in its path.

Birangona means ‘Brave Woman’ or ‘War Heroine’. During the war, it is believed over 200,000 women and girls were systematically raped and tortured as part of the Pakistani Army’s war strategy. These women were then ignored by a society where rape is considered a source of shame for the victims. Marked with dishonour, they were silenced, ostracised and forgotten, and when a Birangona dies, her story dies with her.