Book Review: Out of Darkness: Rumana Monzur’s Journey Through Betrayal, Tyranny and Abuse

Several times each month, we are pleased to republish a recent book review from the Canadian Law Library Review (CLLR). CLLR is the official journal of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL/ACBD), and its reviews cover both practice-oriented and academic publications related to the law.

Out of Darkness: Rumana Monzur’s Journey through Betrayal, Tyranny and Abuse. By Denise Chong. Toronto: Penguin Random House Canada, 2024. 298 p. Includes photographs and author’s note. ISBN 9780735274150 (softcover) $24.95; ISBN 9780735274174 (eBook) $13.99.

Reviewed by Kyla McCallum
Student Librarian
University of British Columbia

In 2011, Rumana Monzur, a well-educated Bangladeshi woman, suffered a beating at the hands of her husband that resulted in the permanent loss of her eyesight. Her husband, Hasan Sayeed Sumon, was initially not apprehended by the Bangladeshi police due to his family’s political connections. The delay prompted rallies for justice on Rumana’s behalf. As a professor on study leave from Dhaka University in Bangladesh and a master’s student at Canada’s University of British Columbia (UBC), Rumana’s story made headlines in both countries.

In Out of Darkness, Denise Chong tells Rumana’s story. Beginning with Rumana’s father’s military career as a lieutenant in the Pakistani army during the Liberation War, Chong describes the lasting influence of Rumana’s family dynamics and upbringing. Her father took safety very seriously, preventing Rumana from walking outside of the immediate neighbourhood without a male guardian. He also believed in the value of education, encouraging Rumana to focus on her studies instead of marrying early. When a family friend proposed a marriage between their children, Rumana’s father allowed her to make her own choice. Having known Sumon since childhood, Rumana judged him to be attentive and sophisticated. Their families believed this to be a rare love match. Rumana accepted the proposal, as Sumon had shown respect for her studies, and her parents would be saved the time and effort of arranging a marriage.

The very night of their wedding, however, Rumana saw a new side of Sumon when he slapped her across the face. The beatings continued regularly. Her mother-in-law was often witness to these bouts of violence, as the couple lived together with her in Dhaka; however, rather than protecting Rumana, her mother-in-law told her that beatings were just a part of marriage. In addition to the physical abuse, Sumon also tried to prevent Rumana from progressing in her career. Despite this, she became a professor at her alma mater. She later independently moved to Canada to study at UBC. The day of her blinding, she was on a break from her studies at UBC, visiting her parents and daughter back in Bangladesh.

The final third of the book recounts Rumana’s ensuing medical and legal journey. Although initially hesitant to pursue legal action, Rumana and her family decided that they would only be safe once Sumon was behind bars. Chong describes Sumon and his family’s attempts to slander Rumana, claiming she was having an affair in Canada. As the case gained media attention, social media users either believed or disparaged Rumana. Rumours spread rampantly, including that she was not actually blinded during the attack. To combat these efforts at character assassination, which could harm her case against Sumon, Rumana’s legal aid collected letters from her peers at UBC attesting to her morality and fidelity.

Out of Darkness is an excellent addition to the expanding shelf of biographical literature on violence against women, such as Chanel Miller’s Know My Name and Shiori Ito’s Black Box. Chong is at her best when asking difficult questions; for example, in collecting attestations of her morality to strengthen her legal case, was Rumana’s legal team implying that infidelity justifies violence? Or, if Rumana, a well-educated woman living in the capital city of Dhaka, cannot achieve justice, how can an ordinary Bangladeshi woman with fewer resources expect to be able to do so? Unfortunately, Chong spends too long detailing the circumstances of Rumana’s childhood, and these broader topics and questions of social justice are only briefly discussed toward the end of book. That said, readers and libraries with researchers interested in understanding how intimate partner violence can occur, particularly outside of a Western context, will appreciate Chong’s extensive description of the courtship and marriage prior to Rumana’s blinding.