Did Professor Anwara not get bail because she fought with weapons in the Liberation War?
On May 29, a Dhaka court sent 69-year-old freedom fighter and retired Jagannath University professor Dr. SM Anwara Begum to jail—without bail. Her alleged crime? “Instigating violence” in a July 2024 incident—though no evidence places her at the scene.
Meanwhile, actress Nusrat Faria, arrested in a similar case, was granted bail within hours after public outcry. Why this double standard? Celebrity privilege?
Dr. Anwara risked her life in 1971, taking up arms as a teenager to resist the Pakistani forces. For 35 years, she served the nation through education. Now, she is jailed without due process or clear evidence.
Human Rights Forum Bangladesh calls this “deeply disappointing and legally questionable.”
Senior lawyers say this goes against the spirit of Section 497 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows bail for elderly women.
So we ask:
Is this how we treat our freedom fighters?
Is justice only for the famous, not the fearless?
Or is this the price for fighting for independence?
Let’s speak out. Justice must not be selective.
