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 eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. 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 fourt ...
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 so ...
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 of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, 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 sec ...
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
Mymensingh Medical College ( bn, ময়মনসিংহ মেডিকেল কলেজ), formerly Lytton Medical School, is a public medical college and hospital in Mymensingh, Bangladesh. The institute was established in 1924 during the ...
, 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
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...
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
Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (abbreviated DMCH) is a public medical college and hospital located in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. It houses medical school as well as a tertiary care hospital on one campus.
The country's first eve ...
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
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
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
Lajja may refer to:
* ''Lajja'' (novel), a 1993 novel by Taslima Nasrin
* ''Lajja'' (2001 film), an Indian Hindi-language social drama film
* ''Lajja'' (TV series), an Indian television series
* Lajja Shankar Pandey, a fictional villain played ...
'' ( bn, লজ্জা, lit=Shame, translit=Lôjja) in which a
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
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 , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
edition of ''
The Statesman
A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level.
Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to:
Newspapers United States
* ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...
'', which quoted her as calling for a revision of the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical 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 in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
; she claims she only called for abolition of the
Sharia
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
, the
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic
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 others ...
. In August 1994 she was brought up on "charges of making inflammatory statements," and faced criticism from
Islamic fundamentalists
Islamic fundamentalism has been defined as a puritanical, revivalist, and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. Islamic fundamentalists are of the view that Muslim-majority countries should return t ...
. 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 ...
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 so ...
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 fourt ...
, 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
Visa most commonly refers to:
*Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Visa Plus, an interbank network
*Travel visa, a document that allows ...
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 cop ...
'' 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, ser ...
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 humiliated
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
Ms 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
The North American Bengali Conference (NABC) is an annual Bengali culture conference held in the United States and Canada, typically around the weekend of July 4. It was established in 1981 by the Cultural Association of Bengal in New York, and is ...
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 Pennsylva ...
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, B ...
for her beheading in March 2007. The group's president,
Tauqeer Raza Khan
Tauqeer Raza Khan is an Indian politician and Islamic cleric from the state of Uttar Pradesh. He is a religious leader of the Bareilvi sect of Sunni Muslims and the founder of the political party Ittehad-e-Millat Council. He is a greatgrandson ...
, 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 Indian States of Telangana ...
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 i ...
'' 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 Wes ...
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 Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...
, 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 th ...
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
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
, India's former foreign secretary
Muchkund Dubey
Prof. Muchkund Dubey is a Former Ambassador and Former Indian Foreign Secretary, the administrative head of the Indian Foreign Service, Government of India.
Career
He is also President of Council for Social Development (CSI), and Chairman ...
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
''Dwikhandito'' ("Split in two") is an autobiographical book of Bengali novelist and poet Taslima Nasrin, published in 2003. This is the third volume of ''Amar Meyebela''. The book was first published in Bangladesh under the title ''Ko'' ("Speak") ...
'', 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, the ...
. 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 American and British English spelling differences, 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 ...
influenced her a great deal in writing about the alleged treatment of
women in Islam
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 ...
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 i ...
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 th ...
as influences, and, when pushed to think of one closer to home,
Begum Rokeya
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain") is the commonly used spelling of Rokeya's full married name, Rokeya herself is never seen to use her full married name in this English spelling. In much of her correspondence in English, she used just her initials: ...
, 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 eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
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
The Ananda Puraskar () is an award for Bengali literature awarded annually by the ABP Group to writers using Bengali, usually from West Bengal, India.
History
The award can be traced to a comment by Annada Shankar Ray ruing the absence of litera ...
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 w ...
version of ''The Statesman'', called ''
Dainik Statesman
''Dainik Statesman'' is a Bengali daily newspaper run by The Statesman group with its central office being The Statesman House at Chowringhee. RNI , Reg. No.WBBEN/2004/13865 , Name: Dainik Statesman , Publication City: Kolkata , Link: htt ...
''. 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 ...
, and said that criticism of
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
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 monoth ...
. ''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, 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 the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
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
Annada Shankar Ray (15 March 1904 – 28 October 2002) was an Indian poet and essayist in Bengali. He also wrote some Odia poetry.
He wrote several Bengali poems criticising the Partition of India. Most notable is "''Teler shishi bhaanglo bole k ...
,
Sibnarayan Ray
Sibnarayan Ray (1921–2008) was an Indian thinker, educationist, philosopher and literary critic who wrote in the Bengali language. A radical humanist, he is widely reputed for his works on Marxist-revolutionary Manabendra Nath Roy, and famous ...
and Amlan Dutta.
Recently she was supported and defended by personalities such as author
Mahasweta Devi
Mahasweta Devi (14 January 1926 – 28 July 2016) ''
Joy Goswami
Joy Goswami ( bn, জয় গোস্বামী; born 1954) is an Indian poet. Goswami writes in Bengali and is widely considered one of the most important Bengali poets of his generation.
Biography
Joy was born on 10 November 1954 in Kolk ...
, artist Prakash Karmakar and
Paritosh Sen
Paritosh Sen ( bn, পরিতোষ সেন) (26 September 1918 – 22 October 2008) was a leading Indian artist. He was born in Dhaka (then known as Dacca), the present-day capital of Bangladesh. He was a founder member of the Calcutta ...
. 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
Kabir Chowdhury (9 February 1923 – 13 December 2011) was a Bangladeshi academic, essayist, materialist, translator, cultural worker and civil society activist.
Early life and education
Chowdhury was born in Brahmanbaria of the then Tipperah d ...
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 ap ...
,
hypertension
Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...
, 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 b ...
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
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, commonly known as the Sakharov Prize, is an honorary award for individuals or groups who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought. Named after Russian scientis ...
for freedom of thoughts from European Parliament, in 1994
*
Simone de Beauvoir Prize
The Simone de Beauvoir Prize (french: Prix Simone de Beauvoir pour la liberté des femmes) is an international human rights prize for women's freedom, awarded since 2008 to individuals or groups fighting for gender equality and opposing breaches of ...
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 aimed pr ...
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 on ...
Prize, Swedish
PEN
A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity whic ...
, 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 com ...
, 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 many ...
, US, 2002
* Fellowship at
Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy
Carr Center for Human Rights Policy is a research center at Harvard Kennedy School founded in 1999. The center's scholars address issues related to human rights, including human security, global governance and civil society, economic justice, and e ...
, 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 higher le ...
, 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 anniv ...
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, France. Founded in 1962, the university is one of the oldest American institutions of higher education in Europe, and the first to ...
, 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'' (''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
Lajja may refer to:
* ''Lajja'' (novel), a 1993 novel by Taslima Nasrin
* ''Lajja'' (2001 film), an Indian Hindi-language social drama film
* ''Lajja'' (TV series), an Indian television series
* Lajja Shankar Pandey, a fictional villain played ...
'', 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
* ''Amar Meyebela'' (''My girlhood''), 1997
* ''Utal Hawa'' (''Wild Wind''), 2002
* ''Ka'' (''Speak Up''), 2003; published in West Bengal as ''
Dwikhandito
''Dwikhandito'' ("Split in two") is an autobiographical book of Bengali novelist and poet Taslima Nasrin, published in 2003. This is the third volume of ''Amar Meyebela''. The book was first published in Bangladesh under the title ''Ko'' ("Speak") ...
'' (''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''
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
Former Muslims or ex-Muslims are people who were Muslims, but subsequently left Islam. Although their numbers have increased, ex-Muslims still face ostracism or retaliation from their families and communities due to beliefs about apostasy i ...
*
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 ...