Hope and Despair: Families in Bangladesh’s fight for justice against forced disappearances
Hope and Despair: Families in Bangladesh’s fight for justice against forced disappearances
DHAKA: In a dimly lit room in Dhaka, Baby Akhtar clutches a faded photograph of her husband, Tarikul Islam Tara, who vanished twelve years ago after allegedly being taken by Bangladesh's security agencies, a personal tragedy reflecting the broader nightmare of enforced disappearances that has haunted Bangladesh for over the last 15 years.
“I have been waiting for my husband for the last 12 years. My life and family have been ruined for no fault of mine. We want justice. We hope that the interim government will give us justice. I want my husband back,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
The fate of hundreds like Tara remains shrouded in uncertainty following the recent ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose administration was accused of presiding over systematic enforced disappearances.
