Maayer Daak finds a place in the school textbook

In a dramatic turn of events, Maayer Daak—a platform that campaigns against enforced disappearances—has found a place in the eighth grade English textbook after years of being harassed by the former Awami League regime.

Maayer Daak, which roughly translates to “mother’s call,” referring to mothers searching for their lost children, represents the voices of families torn apart by enforced disappearances.

The platform is mentioned in English for Today, the primary English text for class 8 students in a chapter titled “The Role of Women in the Uprising”.

She says: “We witnessed initiatives like Mayer Daak, a group of women whose relatives had faced enforced disappearances; they became one of the most enduring symbols of defiance and calls for justice during autocratic rule.”

“They organized demonstrations and faced possibilities of persecution, but could not be arrested,” the text reads.

The textbook also contains a photograph of a Maayer Daak demonstration.

“This is history. It will also inspire us. For me, this is recognition at the highest level, as the new generation will learn how the families of the missing fight,” Islam Tulee, one of the coordinators of Maayer Daak, told Sanjida. newspaper.

He said that new generations and the people in general will know how to fight against human rights violations.

“We must continue fighting. It is not that we will always win, but it is important to keep hope alive,” he added.

Maayer Daak began its journey as a platform in February 2014 with eight families of victims. Now, the platform represents some 1,000 families whose loved ones have been victims of forced disappearance. They raised their voice during the autocratic regime of Sheikh Hasina.

The interim government’s commission for investigation of enforced disappearances in its preliminary report, submitted to senior advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus, recorded 1,676 complaints of enforced disappearances.

Of the complaints, it has examined 758, of which 27 percent (about 200 people) never returned, commission member Sazzad Hussain told The Daily Star.

The commission estimates that the number of cases of forced disappearances could exceed 3,500.

In his televised speech on December 16, Yunus said the commission of inquiry’s preliminary report was a “chilling document” and detailed the “unimaginable brutality” that humans can inflict on each other.

This report will remain a historical record of the most despicable chapter of the previous government, he said.