Kalpana Chakma

Kalpana Chakma is an indigenous women's rights activist of Bangladesh who held the position of General Secretary of the Hill Women's Federation. She and her two brothers were abducted on 12 June 1996 from her home at Lallyaghona village by the members of the Bangladesh Army. Kalpana Chakma is still missing, it is feared that she might have been killed if she did not agree to marry Lieutenant Ferdous, the army officer who led the abduction.

Abduction of indigenous Chakma women is not unusual in the CHT. Abduction and forced marriage of indigenous Chakma women are used as a technique to assimilate the Chakma Buddhists into the Islamic Bangladeshi society.

Background

Kalpana Chakma was known as an active human rights activist in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (hereafter CHT). She had been vehemently criticising Bangladesh Army repressions and harassments on the indigenous men and women. She had specially been working for the emancipation of the indigenous women from becoming victims of the Bangladesh Army's lustful flame by organising conferences, seminar's and meetings in various parts of the CHT. She had also been lending her strong support to the autonomy oriented movement in the CHT spearheaded by the Jana Samhati Samiti (hereafter JSS), an underground political platform of the CHT's indigenous people. In the last general parliamentary elections of Bangladesh held on 12 June 1996 she took active part in electioneering in favour of the independent candidate, who is...
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