Taslima Nasrin (born 25 August 1962) is a Bangladeshi-Swedish writer, physician, feminist, secular humanist, and activist. She is known for her writing on women's oppression and criticism of religion. Some of her books are banned in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...
. She has also been blacklisted and banished from the
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
region (both from Bangladesh and
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the four ...
state of India).
She gained global attention by the beginning of 1990s owing to her essays and novels with feminist views and criticism of what she characterizes as all "misogynistic" religions. Nasrin has been living in exile since 1994, with multiple fatwas calling for her death. After living more than a decade in Europe and the United States, she moved to India in 2004, but was banished from the country in 2008, although she has been staying in
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
on a resident permit long-term, multiple-entry or 'X' visa since 2004. She now lives in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...
, India.
Early life and career
Nasrin was born to Dr. Rajab Ali and Edul Ara in
Mymensingh
Mymensingh ( bn, ময়মনসিংহ) is the capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center and educational hub of north- ...
into a
Bengali Muslim
Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the se ...
family. Her father was a physician, and a professor of Medical Jurisprudence in Mymensingh Medical College, also at Sir Salimullah Medical College, Dhaka and Dhaka Medical College. After high school in 1976 (SSC) and higher secondary studies in college (
HSC) in 1978, she studied medicine at the
Mymensingh Medical College, an affiliated medical college of the
University of Dhaka
The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...
and graduated in 1984 with an
MBBS degree. In college, she wrote and edited a poetry journal called ''Shenjuti''. After graduation, she worked at a family planning clinic in Mymensingh, then practised at the gynaecology department of Mitford hospital and at the anaesthesia department of
Dhaka Medical College hospital. While she studied and practised medicine, she saw girls who had been raped; she also heard women cry out in despair in the delivery room if their baby was a girl.
She was born into a
Muslim family; however, she became an
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
over time. In the course of writing she took a feminist approach.
Literary career
Early in her literary career, Nasrin wrote mainly poetry, and published half a dozen collections of poetry between 1982 and 1993, often with female oppression as a theme, and often containing very graphic language.
She started publishing prose in the late 1980s, and produced three collections of essays and four novels before the publication of her documentary novel ''
Lajja'' ( bn, লজ্জা, lit=Shame, translit=Lôjja) in which a
Hindu family was being attacked by Muslim fanatics and decided to leave the country. Nasrin suffered a number of physical and other attacks for her critical scrutiny of Islam and her demand for women's equality. Hundreds of thousands of fanatics took to the streets demanding her execution by hanging. In October 1993, a radical fundamentalist group called the Council of Islamic Soldiers offered a bounty for her death.
In May 1994 she was interviewed by the
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
edition of ''
The Statesman'', which quoted her as calling for a revision of the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...
; she claims she only called for abolition of the
Sharia, the
Islamic
religious law
Religious law includes ethical and moral codes taught by religious traditions. Different religious systems hold sacred law in a greater or lesser degree of importance to their belief systems, with some being explicitly antinomian whereas other ...
.
In August 1994 she was brought up on "charges of making inflammatory statements," and faced criticism from
Islamic fundamentalists. A few hundred thousand demonstrators called her "an
apostate
Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that i ...
appointed by imperial forces to vilify Islam"; a member of a "militant faction threatened to set loose thousands of poisonous snakes in the capital unless she was executed." After spending two months in hiding, at the end of 1994 she escaped to Sweden, consequently ceasing her medical practice and becoming a full-time writer and activist.
Life in exile
After fleeing Bangladesh in 1994, Nasrin spent the next ten years in exile in Sweden, Germany, France and the US. She returned to the East and relocated to Kolkata, India, in 2004, where she lived until 2007. After she was physically attacked by fanatics in Hyderabad, she was forced to live under house arrest in Kolkata, and finally, she was made to leave West Bengal on 22 November 2007. She was then forced to live under house arrest in Delhi for 3 months. She had no other alternative but to leave India in 2008. She was not allowed to live in India for a while, but ultimately Nasrin, determined to live in the subcontinent, moved to India from the US.
Leaving Bangladesh towards the end of 1994, Nasrin lived in exile in Western Europe and North America for ten years. Her Bangladeshi passport had been revoked; she was granted
citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
by the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
government and took refuge in Germany.
She allegedly had to wait for six years (1994–1999) to get a visa to visit India. In 1998 she wrote ''Meyebela, My Bengali Girlhood'', her biographical account from birth to adolescence. She never got a Bangladeshi passport to return to the country when her mother,
and later her father, were on their death beds.
2004–2007, life in Kolkata
In 2004, she was granted a renewable temporary residential permit by
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
and moved to Kolkata in the state of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the four ...
, which shares a common heritage and language with Bangladesh; in an interview in 2007, after she had been forced to flee, she called Kolkata her home. The government of India extended her
visa to stay in the country on a periodic basis, though it refused to grant her
Indian citizenship
Indian nationality law details the conditions by which a person holds Indian nationality. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the Constitution of India and the Citizenship Act, 1955.
All persons born in Ind ...
. While living in Kolkata, Nasrin regularly contributed to Indian newspapers and magazines, including ''
Anandabazar Patrika
'' Anandabazar Patrika'' ( Bengali: আনন্দবাজার পত্রিকা, ) is an Indian Bengali-language daily newspaper owned by the ABP Group. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1 million ...
'' and ''
Desh'', and, for some time, wrote a weekly column in the Bengali version of ''The Statesman''.
Again her criticism of Islam was met with opposition from religious fundamentalists: in June 2006, Syed Noorur Rehaman Barkati, the
imam
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, se ...
of Kolkata's
Tipu Sultan Mosque
The Tipu Sultan Shahi Mosque (also known as Tipu Sultan Masjid) is a famous mosque in Kolkata, India named after Tipu Sultan the ruler of Mysore. Located at 185 Dharamtalla Street, the mosque is a relic of architectural and cultural heritage ...
, admitted offering money to anyone who "blackened
hat is, publicly humiliatedMs Nasreen's face." Even abroad she caused controversy: in 2005, she tried to read an
anti-war
An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pa ...
poem titled "America" to a large Bengali crowd at the
North American Bengali Conference at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...
in New York City, and was booed off the stage. Back in India, the "All India Muslim Personal Board (Jadeed)" offered 500,000
rupees
Rupee is the common name for the currencies of
India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, ...
for her beheading in March 2007. The group's president,
Tauqeer Raza Khan, said the only way the bounty would be lifted was if Nasrin "apologises, burns her books and leaves."
In 2007, elected and serving members of
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen
The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen ( en, All India Council for Unity of Muslims) ( AIMIM) is an Indian political party based primarily in the city of Hyderabad. It is also a significant political party in the States and union territorie ...
made threats against Tasleema Nasreen, pledging that the ''
fatwa
A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist ...
'' against her and
Salman Rushdie
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and W ...
were to be abided by. While she was in Hyderabad releasing Telugu translations of her work, she was attacked by party members led by 3 MLAs- Mohammed Muqtada Khan, Mohammed Moazzam Khan and Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri - were then charged and arrested.
Expulsion from Kolkata
On 9 August 2007, Nasrin was in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
to present the
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
translation of one of her novels, ''Shodh'', when she was allegedly attacked by a mob, led by legislators from the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, an Indian political party. A week later, on 17 August, Muslim leaders in Kolkata revived an old fatwa against her, urging her to leave the country and offering an unlimited amount of money to anybody who would kill her. On 21 November, Kolkata witnessed a protest against Nasrin. A protest organised by the "All India Minority Forum" caused chaos in the city and forced the army's deployment to restore order. After the riots, Nasrin was forced to move from Kolkata, her "adopted city,"
to
Jaipur
Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known as ...
, and to New Delhi the following day.
The government of India kept Nasrin in an undisclosed location in New Delhi, effectively under house arrest, for more than seven months. In January 2008, she was selected for the
Simone de Beauvoir
Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even ...
award in recognition of her writing on women's rights, but declined to go to Paris to receive the award. She explained that "I don't want to leave India at this stage and would rather fight for my freedom here," but she had to be hospitalised for three days with several complaints. The house arrest quickly acquired an international dimension: in a letter to London-based human rights organisation
Amnesty International, India's former foreign secretary
Muchkund Dubey urged the organisation to pressure the Indian government so Nasrin could safely return to Kolkata.
From New Delhi, Nasrin commented: "I'm writing a lot, but not about Islam, It's not my subject now. This is about politics. In the last three months I have been put under severe pressure to leave
estBengal by the police."
In an email interview from the undisclosed safehouse, Nasrin talked about the stress caused by "this unendurable loneliness, this uncertainty and this deathly silence." She cancelled the publication of the sixth part of her autobiography ''Nei Kichu Nei'' ("No Entity"), and—under pressure—deleted some passages from ''
Dwikhandito'', the controversial book that was the boost for the riots in Kolkata. She was forced to leave India on 19 March 2008.
Nasrin moved to Sweden in 2008 and later worked as a research scholar at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, ...
. Since, as she claims, "her soul lived in India," she also pledged her body to the country, by awarding it for posthumous medical use to Gana Darpan, a Kolkata-based NGO, in 2005. She eventually returned to India, but was forced to stay in New Delhi as the West Bengal government refused to permit her entry.. Currently her visa received a one-year extension in 2016 and Nasreen is also seeking permanent residency in India but no decision has been taken on it by the Home Ministry
In 2015 Nasrin was threatened with death by Al Qaeda-linked extremists, and so the Center for Inquiry assisted her in traveling to the United States, where she now lives.
The Center for Inquiry (CFI) that helped evacuate her to the U.S. on 27 May gave an official statement in June 2015 stating that her safety "is only temporary if she cannot remain in the U.S., however, which is why CFI has established an emergency fund to help with food, housing, and the means for her to be safely settled".
Literary works
Nasrin started writing poetry when she was thirteen. While still at college in Mymensingh, she published and edited a literary magazine, ''SeNjuti'' ("Light in the dark"), from 1978 to 1983. She published her first collection of poems in 1986. Her second collection, ''Nirbashito Bahire Ontore'' ("Banished within and without") was published in 1989. She succeeded in attracting a wider readership when she started writing columns in late 1980s, and, in the early 1990s, she began writing novels, for which she has won significant acclaim.
In all, she has written more than thirty books of poetry, essays, novels, short stories, and memoirs, and her books have been translated into 20 different languages.
Her own experience of
sexual abuse
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...
during adolescence and her work as a
gynaecologist
Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined ar ...
influenced her a great deal in writing about the alleged treatment of
women in Islam and against religion in general.
Her writing is characterised by two connected elements: her struggle with the Islam of her native culture, and her
feminist philosophy
Feminist philosophy is an approach to philosophy from a feminist perspective and also the employment of philosophical methods to feminist topics and questions. Feminist philosophy involves both reinterpreting philosophical texts and methods in ...
. She cites
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device.
Woolf was born ...
and
Simone de Beauvoir
Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even ...
as influences, and, when pushed to think of one closer to home,
Begum Rokeya, who lived during the time of undivided
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
. Her later poetry also evidences a connection to place, to Bangladesh and India.
Columns and essays
In 1989 Nasrin began to contribute to the weekly political magazine ''Khaborer Kagoj'', edited by Nayeemul Islam Khan, and published from Dhaka. Her feminist views and anti-religion remarks articles succeeded in drawing broad attention, and she shocked the religious and conservative society of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...
by her radical comments and suggestions. Later she collected these columns in a volume titled ''Nirbachita Column'', which in 1992 won her first
Ananda Purashkar award, a prestigious award for Bengali writers. During her life in Kolkata, she contributed a weekly essay to the
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the ...
version of ''The Statesman'', called ''
Dainik Statesman''. Taslima has always advocated for an Indian
Uniform civil code
The Uniform Civil Code ( Hindi: समान नागरिक संहिता, IAST: Samāna Nāgarika Saṃhitā) is a proposal in India to formulate and implement personal laws of citizens which apply on all citizens equally regardless o ...
, and said that criticism of
Islam is the only way to establish secularism in Islamic countries. Taslima said that
Triple talaq
Divorce in Islam can take a variety of forms, some initiated by the husband and some initiated by the wife. The main traditional legal categories are ''talaq'' (repudiation), ''khulʿ'' (mutual divorce or ransom divorce) Historically, the rules ...
is despicable and the
All India Muslim Personal Law Board
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is a non-government organisation constituted in 1973 by that time Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi to adopt suitable strategies for the protection and continued applicability of Muslim Personal ...
should be abolished. Taslima used to write articles for online media venture The Print in India.
Novels
In 1992 Nasrin produced two novellas which failed to draw attention.
Her breakthrough novel
''Lajja'' (''Shame'') was published in 1993, and attracted wide attention because of its controversial subject matter. It contained the struggle of a patriotic Bangladeshi Hindu family in a Muslim environment.
Initially written as a thin documentary, ''Lajja'' grew into a full-length novel as the author later revised it substantially. In six months' time, it sold 50,000 copies in Bangladesh before being banned by the government that same year.
Her other famous novel is ''French Lover'', published in year 2002.
Autobiography
''Amar Meyebela'' (''My Girlhood'', 2002), the first volume of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladeshi government in 1999 for "reckless comments" against Islam and the prophet
Mohammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...
. ''Utal Hawa'' (''Wild Wind''), the second part of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladesh government in 2002. ''Ka'' (''Speak up''), the third part of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladeshi High Court in 2003. Under pressure from Indian Muslim activists, the book, which was published in West Bengal as ''Dwikhandita'', was banned there also; some 3,000 copies were seized immediately. The decision to ban the book was criticized by "a host of authors" in West Bengal, but the ban was not lifted until 2005. ''Sei Sob Ondhokar'' (''Those Dark Days''), the fourth part of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladesh government in 2004.
To date, a total of seven parts of her autobiography have been published. "Ami bhalo nei tumi bhalo theko priyo desh", " Nei kichu nei" and "Nirbashito". All seven parts have been published by Peoples's Book Society, Kolkata.
She received her second ''Ananda Purashkar'' award in 2000, for her memoir ''Amar Meyebela'' (''My Girlhood'', published in English in 2002).
Nasrin's life and works in adaptation
Nasrin's life is the subject of a number of plays and songs, in the east and the west. The Swedish singer Magoria sang "Goddess in you, Taslima," and the French band
Zebda
Zebda is a French music group from Toulouse, France, known for its political activism and its wide variety of musical styles. The group, which was formed in 1985, consisted of seven musicians of diverse nationalities, and the themes of much of ...
composed "Don't worry, Taslima" as an homage.
Her work has been adapted for TV and even turned into music. ''Jhumur'' was a 2006 TV serial based on a story written especially for the show. Bengali singers like Fakir Alamgir, Samina Nabi, Rakhi Sen sang her songs.
Steve Lacy Steve Lacy may refer to:
Music
* Steve Lacy (saxophonist) (1934–2004), American jazz saxophonist and composer
* Steve Lacy (singer) (born 1998), American musician
Other occupations
*Steve Lacy (coach) (1908–2000), American college sports coach ...
, the jazz soprano saxophonist, met Nasrin in 1996 and collaborated with her on an adaptation of her poetry to music. The result, a "controversial" and "compelling" work called ''The Cry'', was performed in Europe and North America. Initially, Nasrin was to recite during the performance, but these recitations were dropped after the 1996
Berlin
Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
world premiere because of security concerns.
Writers and intellectuals for and against Nasrin
Nasrin has been criticized by writers and intellectuals in both Bangladesh and West Bengal for targeted scandalisation. Because of "obnoxious, false and ludicrous" comments in ''Ka'', "written with the 'intention to injure the reputation of the plaintiff'",
Syed Shamsul Haq
Syed Shamsul Haq (27 December 1935 – 27 September 2016) was a Bangladeshi writer. He was awarded Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1966 (the youngest among all to receive it), Ekushey Padak in 1984 and Independence Day Award in 2000 by the Gover ...
, Bangladeshi poet and novelist, filed a defamation suit against Nasrin in 2003. In the book, she mentions that Haq confessed to her that he had a relationship with his sister-in-law. A West Bengali poet, Hasmat Jalal, did the same; his suit led to the High Court banning the book, which was published in India as ''Dwikhondito''. Nearly 4 million dollars were claimed in defamation lawsuits against her after the book was published. The West Bengal Government, supposedly pressured by 24 literary intellectuals, decided to ban Nasrin's book in 2003. Nasrin replied that she wrote about known people without their permission when some commented that she did it to earn
fame. She defended herself against all the allegations. She wrote why she dared to reveal her sexual activities, saying that she wrote her life's story, not others'. Yet Nasrin enjoyed support from Bengali writers and intellectuals like
Annada Shankar Ray,
Sibnarayan Ray and
Amlan Dutta
Amlan Datta ( bn, অম্লান দত্ত) (17 June 1924 – 18 February 2010) was an Indian economist and educationist. He was pro-vice chancellor of Calcutta University and vice chancellor of North Bengal and Visva Bharti universities.
...
.
Recently she was supported and defended by personalities such as author
Mahasweta Devi, theatre director
Bibhas Chakrabarty
Bibhas is a Hindustani classical raga.
Theory
Bibhas (sometimes also called 'Vibhas') is a pentatonic raga belonging to the Bhairav Thaat. This Raga is sung during daybreak. It is quite similar to Raga Deshkar as changing the Shuddha Dha and ...
, poet
Joy Goswami, artist Prakash Karmakar and
Paritosh Sen. In India, noted writers
Arundhati Roy
Suzanna Arundhati Roy (born 24 November 1961) is an Indian author best known for her novel ''The God of Small Things'' (1997), which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author. S ...
,
Girish Karnad
Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the ...
, and others defended her when she was under house arrest in Delhi in 2007, and co-signed a statement calling on the Indian government to grant her permanent residency in India or, should she ask for it, citizenship. In Bangladesh writer and philosopher
Kabir Chowdhury also supported her strongly.
Controversial Views
When
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
banned the
burqa
A burqa or a burka, or , and ur, , it is also transliterated as burkha, bourkha, burqua or burqu' or borgha' and is pronounced natively . It is generally pronounced in the local variety of Arabic or variety of Persian, which varies. Examp ...
in 2019, Nasrin took to Twitter to show her support for the decision. She termed burqa as a 'mobile prison'.
She also stated that those with "bad genes" (for which she lists
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
,
hypertension, and
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...
)
should not reproduce.
Other activities
*
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
(RWB), Member of the Emeritus Board.
Awards
Taslima Nasrin has received international awards in recognition of her contribution towards the cause of freedom of expression. Awards and honors conferred on her include the following:
* Ananda Award or Ananda Puraskar from West Bengal, India in 1992 and 2000 for ''"Nirbachita Kolam"'' and ''"Amar Meyebela"''
*
Sakharov Prize for freedom of thoughts from European Parliament, in 1994
*
Simone de Beauvoir Prize in 2008
* Human Rights Award from the
Government of France
The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...
, 1994
*
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aim ...
Prize from France, 1994
*
Kurt Tucholsky
Kurt Tucholsky (; 9 January 1890 – 21 December 1935) was a German journalist, satirist, and writer. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Kaspar Hauser (after the historical figure), Peter Panter, Theobald Tiger and Ignaz Wrobel.
Tucholsky was o ...
Prize, Swedish
PEN, Sweden, 1994
* Feminist of the Year from
Feminist Majority Foundation
The Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, whose stated mission is to advance non-violence and women's power, equality, and economic development. The name Feminist Majority co ...
, US, 1994
* Scholarship from the
German Academic Exchange Service
The German Academic Exchange Service, or DAAD (german: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), was founded in 1925 and is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation.
Organisation
''DAAD'' is a ...
, Germany, 1995
* Honorary Doctorate from Ghent University, Belgium, 199
Overzicht eredoctoraten* Distinguished Humanist Award from International Humanist and Ethical Union, Great Britain, 1996
* Erwin Fischer Award,
International League of non-religious and atheists (IBKA), Germany, 2002
* Freethought Heroine Award,
Freedom From Religion Foundation
The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is an American nonprofit organization, which advocates for atheists, agnostics, and nontheists. Formed in 1976, FFRF promotes the separation of church and state, and challenges the legitimacy of man ...
, US, 2002
* Fellowship at
Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, US, 2003
*
UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize
The UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence is a prize awarded every two years by UNESCO. It was inaugurated in 1996, following the 1995 United Nations Year for Tolerance and in connection with the 125th anni ...
for the promotion of tolerance and non-violence, 2004
* Honorary doctorate from
American University of Paris
The American University of Paris (AUP) is a private, independent, and accredited liberal arts university in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 ...
, 2005
* Grand Prix International Condorcet-Aron, 2005
* Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, US, 2009
* Feminist Press award, US, 2009
* Honorary doctorate from Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, 2011
* Honorary citizenship from Esch, Luxembourg, 2011
* Honorary citizenship from Metz, France, 2011
* Honorary citizenship from Thionville, France, 2011
* Honorary doctorate from Paris Diderot University, Paris, France, 2011
* Universal Citizenship Passport. From Paris, France, 2013
* Academy Award from the Royal Academy of Arts, Science and Literature, Belgium, 2013
*Honorary Associate of the
National Secular Society
The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. It was ...
Bibliography
Poetry
* ''Shikore Bipul Khudha'' (Hunger in the Roots), 1982
* ''Nirbashito Bahire Ontore'' (Banished Without and Within), 1989
* ''Amar Kichu Jay Ashe Ne'' (I Couldn't Care Less), 1990
* ''Atole Ontorin'' (Captive in the Abyss), 1991
* ''Balikar Gollachut'' (Game of the Girls), 1992
* ''Behula Eka Bhashiyechilo Bhela'' (Behula Floated the Raft Alone), 1993
* ''Ay Kosto Jhepe, Jibon Debo Mepe'' (Pain Come Roaring Down, I'll Measure Out My Life for You), 1994
* ''Nirbashito Narir Kobita'' (Poems From Exile), 1996
* ''Jolpodyo'' (Waterlilies), 2000
* ''Khali Khali Lage'' (Feeling Empty), 2004
* ''Kicchukhan Thako'' (Stay for a While), 2005
* ''Bhalobaso? Cchai baso'' (It's your love! or a heap of trash!), 2007
* ''Bondini'' (Prisoner), 2008
* ''Golpo''(stories),2018
Essay collections
* ''
Nirbachito Column ''Nirbachito Column ('' bn, নির্বাচিত কলাম'') or (Selected Columns)'' is a feminist work in Bengali literature. It was published in 1992 and is a collection of essays by exiled Bengali author Taslima Nasrin which were previ ...
'' (''Selected Columns''), 1990
* ''
Jabo na keno? jabo'' (I will go; why won't I?), 1991
* ''Noshto meyer noshto goddo'' (Fallen prose of a fallen girl), 1992
* ''ChoTo choTo dukkho kotha'' (Tale of trivial sorrows), 1994
* ''Narir Kono Desh Nei'' (Women have no country), 2007
* ''Nishiddho'' (Forbidden),2014
* ''Taslima Nasreener Godyo Podyo'' (Taslima Nasreen's prose and poetry), 2015
* ''Amar protibader bhasha'' (Language of my protest), 2016
* ''Sakal Griho Haralo Jar'' (A poet who lost everything), 2017
* ''Bhabnaguli'' (My thoughts), 2018
* ''Bhinnomot'' (Different opinions),2019
Novels
* ''Oporpokkho'' (''The Opponent''), 1992.
* ''Shodh'', 1992. . Trans. in English as ''Getting Even''.
* ''Nimontron'' (''Invitation''), 1993.
* ''Phera'' (''Return''), 1993.
* ''
Lajja'', 1993. . Trans. in English as ''Shame''.
* ''Bhromor Koio Gia'' (''Tell Him The Secret''), 1994.
* ''Forashi Premik'' (''French Lover''), 2002.
* ''Brahmaputrer pare'' (''At the bank of Brahmaputra river'') 2013
* ''Beshorom'' (''Shameless''), 2019
Short stories
* ''Dukkhoboty Meye'' (Sad girls), 1994
* ''Minu'', 2007
Autobiography
* ''Amar Meyebela'' (''My girlhood''), 1997
* ''Utal Hawa'' (''Wild Wind''), 2002
* ''Ka'' (''Speak Up''), 2003; published in West Bengal as ''
Dwikhandito'' (''Split-up in Two''), 2003
* ''Sei Sob Andhokar'' (''Those Dark Days''), 2004
* ''Ami Bhalo Nei, Tumi Bhalo Theko Priyo Desh'' ("I am not okay, but you stay well my beloved homeland"), 2006.
* ''Nei, Kichu Nei'' (''Nothing is there''), 2010
* ''Nirbasan'' (''Exile''), 2012
Titles in English
* Split
* Exile
* French Lover
*
*
* Trans. of ''Lajja''.
*
* Trans. of ''Meyebela''
Secondary works
*
*
*
* Hasan, Md. Mahmudul (July 2016), "Nasrin Gone Global: A Critique of Taslima Nasrin’s Criticism of Islam and Her Feminist Strategy." South Asia Research. 36(2): 167–185
Nasrin Gone Global: A Critique of Taslima Nasrin’s Criticism of Islam and Her Feminist Strategy
See also
*
List of fatwas
A fatwa ( ar, فتوى), is a non-binding legal opinion in Islam, issued by an Islamically qualified religious law specialist, known as a ''mufti'', on a specific issue. The following is a list of notable historical and contemporary fatwas.
16th ...
*
List of former Muslims
*
Women in muslim societies
The experiences of Muslim women ( ''Muslimāt'', singular مسلمة ''Muslimah'') vary widely between and within different societies. At the same time, their adherence to Islam is a shared factor that affects their lives to a varying degree a ...
*
''The Cry'' (Steve Lacy album)
Notes
References
External links
Women's untold stories: Michael Deibert interviews with Taslima Nasrin''For freedom of expression''by Taslima Nasrin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasrin, Taslima
1962 births
Living people
20th-century Bangladeshi poets
20th-century Bengali poets
20th-century atheists
20th-century essayists
20th-century Bangladeshi women writers
21st-century Bangladeshi poets
21st-century Bengali poets
21st-century atheists
21st-century essayists
21st-century Bangladeshi women writers
Atheism activists
Atheist feminists
Attacks on secularists in Bangladesh
Bangladeshi atheists
Bangladeshi essayists
Bangladeshi exiles
Bangladeshi expatriates in India
Bangladeshi feminists
Bangladeshi former Muslims
Bangladeshi humanists
Bangladeshi memoirists
Bangladeshi secularists
Bangladeshi women essayists
Bangladeshi women novelists
Bangladeshi women poets
Bangladeshi women writers
Bangladeshi writers
Bengali female poets
Bengali writers
Critics of Islam
Critics of feminism
Critics of creationism
Fatwas
Former Muslim critics of Islam
Former Muslims turned agnostics or atheists
People from Mymensingh District
Recipients of the Ananda Purashkar
Secular humanists
Bangladeshi gynecologists
Sakharov Prize laureates