Zakia Afrin

The words embroidered reminded me of the helplessness experienced by the victims and survivors of Rape and sexual slavery camps during the Liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971.  In a newly independent country, women had the choice of late term abortion; however, many carried on with the unwanted toxic pregnancies and gave birth. Women  around the world share the torment and burden of a decision of such magnitude whether they participate in it or not. The embroidery pattern is “Nokshi Kantha stitch”, a traditional form of hand embroidery made by Bengali women in Bangladesh and parts of West Bengal state in India.

Bio

Zakia Afrin is a Bangladeshi American Academic and Human RIghts Advocate based in the SF Bay area. She is founder of Auditiya (https://auditiya.com) a social and cultural platform promoting feminism and human rights in Bangladesh and the Bangladeshi diaspora where she hosts podcasts in Bangla, literary events and educational programs facilitating human rights education.