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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008) |
| Taslima Nasrin | |
|---|---|
 Taslima Nasrin | |
| Born | 25 August 1962 Mymensingh, Bangladesh |
| Occupation | Novelist, Poet, Journalist |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi |
| Writing period | 1980 - Present |
| Children | none |
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Influences | |
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[Official website Official website] | |
Taslima Nasrin (Bengali: তসিলমা নাসরিন), also spelled Taslima Nasreen and popularly referred to as \'Taslima\', her first name, rather than \'Nasreen\' (born 25 August 1962 in Mymensingh, Bangladesh) is a Bengali Bangladeshi ex-physician turned author, feminist who describes herself as a secular humanist.Feminist author rewrites novel after death threats from Muslim extremists -Times Online Her own experience of sexual abuse during adolescence and her work as a gynaecologist\'Condemned to life as an outsider\' The Guardian, November 30, 2007 where she routinely examined young girls who had been raped, influenced her a great deal in writing about the treatment of women in Islam.Condemned to life as an outsider The Guardian, November 30, 2007 From a modest literary profile in the late 1980s, she achieved a meteoric rise to global fame by the end of the twentieth century, for her feminist views are seen as a criticism of Islam and of religion in general. She currently lives in exile in India in a secret place and has received death threats from Islamic fundamentalists.
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http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,,2219223,00.html Condemned to life as an outsider] The Guardian, November 30, 2007 She studied medicine at the Mymensingh Medical College and after graduating in 1986, she worked as a government physician until 1994.
She began writing poetry while she was still at high school and published her first anthology of poems titled Shikore Bipul Khudha (Hunger in the Roots) in 1986. It was an anthology of 38 poems composed between 1980 and 1984. She specialized in writing short lyrics based on personal experience.
She succeeded in drawing the attention of a wider readership when she started writing columns in the newspaper Khabarer Kagoj, encouraged by her second husband Naimul Islam Khan. She married him after divorcing poet Rudra Muhammad Shahidullah. Her alleged anti-Islam writings caused controversy throughout Bangladesh, and her feminist stance began to crystallize during the course of these articlesTaslima Nasreen and Others, a collection of poems by women poets of Bangladesh compiled by Faizul Latif Chowdhury, 1999, Dibya Prokash, Dhaka..
Her literary debut in the genre of fiction began with the publication of a 76 page novella titled Lajja, (a Bangla word meaning shame) where she, through graphic description of the rape of a Hindu girl by a Muslim man, purported to symbolize marginalization of the Hindu community in Bangladesh. Taslima subsequently revised the novella, restructuring and substantiating with more information. It is now more than 200 pages long. The Government banned the book and Islamic fundamentalists declared a death sentence. In 1993, she was charged with blasphemy. An arrest warrant was issued and Taslima went into hiding. After two months she surrendered to the High Court, received bail, left the country and went into exile. Since 1994 she has lived in many countries in exile including France, Sweden and India. In the meanwhile, she has published a number of fictional and autobiographical accounts, in addition to poetry. Her autobiographical writings have also proved to be provocative and faced governmental bans in India as well as Bangladesh. Taslima was penning her sixth autobiographical book, Nai Kichu Nei (There is nothing), but the continued movement against her through 2007 and expulsion from Calcutta disrupted further writing.
The author\'s other autobiographical works are Amar Meyebela (My girlhood), Utal Hawa (Wild wind), Dwikhandito (Split up into two). Sei Sob Andhakar (Those dark days) and Ami Bhalo Nei, Tumi Bhalo Theko Desh (I am not well, you remain well my country).
Taslima\'s feminist stance is said to evolve mainly around her criticism of Islam. Perceived criticism of Islam and the treatment of women in a country like Bangladesh which has a predominantly Muslim population has led to vocal condemnation by Islamic fundamentalists and is also said to have antagonized moderate Muslims.
In 1994, organized groups identified as Islamic fundamentalists, demanded her execution after she was quoted in publication The Statesman stating that "…the Koran should be revised thoroughly." Taslima made a statement denying this.Bangla Desh Taslima Nasrin While the government did not take any action against those who had issued the threats, a case was filed in a court of law against Taslima, charging her with blasphemy. When an arrest warrant was issued Taslima went into hiding to avoid arrest. After two months she surrendered to a higher court, left the country and went into exile after securing bail. She lived in Stockholm, among other cities for a long time and, in 2004, decided to settle in Calcutta.
Autobiographical books of Taslima raised controversy not only because of her attacks on Islam but also for narratives involving the private lives of different people, mainly from the literary circle. Taslima candidly described her intimate sexual relationship with a number of persons and indicated them by name and was said to have been implying that they had sought to be intimate with her. Published in 2003, Ka, her third autobiographical book, was the first to raise such issues. Taslima came under severe attack by several progressive writers and intellectuals who described Ka as a book written with the "business aspect in mind". The 400-page book was described as nothing but pornography or "autobiographical Kama Sutra" by commentator and writer Masuda Bhatti. A Shocker from Taslima
On 9 November 2003, poet Syed Shamsul Haq filed a suit against Taslima Nasreen and six others, claiming compensation for what he claimed were defamatory remarks against him in her book Ka. His complaint is that Taslima mentioned in the book that the plaintiff had taken her and her sister to Comilla Shalban Bihar and stayed in the guesthouse of Comilla Bonunnayan Daftar. He also complained that Taslima Nasreen, then living in the United States, wrote that during their stay in a guesthouse in Kaptai, he had visited the bathroom many times and she had found him throwing up in the toilet, as he was drunk. Taslima asserted that she was too scared to stay with him in the same room. According to the complaint, Taslima wrote in her novel that he had an illicit relationship with his sister-in-law and had suffered heartbreak, when she married another person. The plaintiff, described such remarks as defamatory and appealed to the court for seizure of all copies of the book and measures to halt its further sale. Barrister Ziaur Rahman Khan and advocate Monwar Hossain moved the suit on behalf of Shamsul Haq. Syed Haq sues Taslima for defamation It may be noted that Ka, published in Bangladesh, is a self-censored version of Dwikhonditp published in India. Dwikhonditp is said to contain direct and derogatory comments on the Islamic Prophet Muhammed (according to Islamic Sharia law, criticism of Muhammad is haraam and punishable by execution).[http://pd.cpim.org/2004/0215/02152004_taslima.htm}. The latter was also banned in India by the Calcutta High Court in the communist-run state of West Bengal on 18 November, 2004.
In addition to poet-novelist Syed Shamsul Haq, many others who were implicated in Ka have come out with vehement protests accusing Taslima of deliberate character assassination. They have also claimed that Taslima has told only half the story to hide her own role in the game. Among them publisher Iftekher Rasul George published a book titled Kanyakumarider choukhe Taslima Nasreen (tr. Taslima Nasreen as viewed by women). Poet Abu Hasan Shahriar forwarded his rebuttal with documentary evidence in a book titled Ordho-satya (tr. Only the Half-truth). Shahriar was a classmate of Taslima in the medical college. He happened to be close to Taslima\'s boy-friend Dr. Habibullah and three of the husbands, namely, poet Rudra Muhammad Shahidullah, newspaper editor Naimul Islam Khan and journalist Minar Mahmood.
Apart from Lajja, Taslima\'s first four autobiographical volumes have been banned in Bangladesh. Police were told to confiscate all copies of Wild Wind. The Home Ministry in Bangladesh claimed that they "contain anti-Islamic sentiments and statements that could destroy the religious harmony of Bangladesh." Nasreen told the BBC Bengali service there was no freedom of expression in the country. "It is a democratic country but there is no real democracy in Bangladesh". Wild Wind is the sequel to My Girlhood, published in 1999, which was also banned in Bangladesh for blasphemy.Bangladesh bans third Taslima book BBC, 27 August, 2002 In November 2003, the West Bengal government in India banned the sale, distribution and collection of Taslima\'s Dwikhandito, the third part of her autobiography.[citation needed] However, the ban was lifted by the High Court in September 2004.[citation needed]
Since 1993 Taslima has faced several death threats from Islamic fundamentalists for her criticism of Islam. In 2004, Syed Noorur Rehaman Barkati, the Islamic head priest of Kolkata\'s Tipu Sultan Mosque, admitted offering money to anyone who "blackened" Taslima\'s face, (face blackening is carried out in India in order to publicly humiliate someone). He also accused her of being a "Jewish spy."Cleric quizzed over author threat, BBC News, June 27, 2006 In 2005, her attempt to read an anti-war poem entitled "America" to a large right-wing Bengali crowd attending the North American Bengali Conference at Madison Square Garden resulted in her being booed off the stage.[http://in.news.yahoo.com/071126/48/6nq6s.html Yahoo News India November 27
In March 2007, the "All India Ittehad Millat Council" of Bareilly U.P offered 500,000 rupees for her beheading. The group\'s president, Tauqir Raza Khan, said the only way the bounty would be lifted was if Nasreen "apologises, burns her books and leaves."
On August 9, 2007, Taslima was attacked at the Hyderabad Press Club in the state of Andhra Pradesh."Muslim lawmakers attack Taslima Nasreen", Reuters, 2007-08-09. Retrieved on 2007-08-28. She was there for the launch of her novel Shodh in the Telugu language. Three MLAs of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party were among the 100 male protesters who physically attacked her for what they claim her repeated criticism of Islam Akbaruddin Owaisi, also an MLA and MIM floor leader in the Assembly, justified the attacks by saying, "We are not bothered about our MLA status. We are Muslims first. And it\'s our responsibility to test those who have said anything against Islam in whichever way possible."Iyer, Radhika. "Taslima Attacked", NDTV, 2007-08-09. Retrieved on 2007-08-28. Taslima, who backed into a corner, said the attack was barbaric but pledged she would not be cowed."Protesters attack author Nasreen", BBC News, 2007-08-09. Retrieved on 2007-08-28.
Taslima Nasrin in her Calcutta residence in 2007
Taslima\'s life in exile commenced when she left Bangladesh in 1994 to avoid arrest. As of 2007, Taslima has been living in exile for more than 13 years. Though she is still a citizen of Bangladesh, all the successive governments there have deliberately not taken any step to help her return to the country. She is currently living at an undisclosed location near New Delhi in India The Hindu : Front Page : “Kolkata is my home” on the basis of a periodic visa given by the Indian government. The author has requested the Indian government to grant her Indian citizenship.Calcutta calm after day of riots, BBC News, November 22, 2007 but as yet the government of India has not responded to her appeal for Indian citizenship. Currently she is unable to return to Bangladesh since she has neither a Bangladeshi passport, nor a visa to enter Bangladesh on her Swedish passport.
In 1993, while she appeared at the airport for traveling to India, her passport was forfeited by the immigration department on a charge of attempting to hide her real profession. Life in India became turbulent in 2007. Incidents in India during 2007 prompted Taslima to begin writing a new book to be titled Narir kono desh nei (A woman has no country).
The latest blow came in September 2007 when a movement was initiated in West Bengal by Islamic extremists and communist sympathizers demanding expulsion of Taslima from India. As a consequence, she has been forced to leave Calcutta and seek refuge in New Delhi.Shunned writer Taslima Nasreen arrives in Indian capital, earthtimes.org / 23 November 2007
A protest, called by the militant Islamist "All India Minority Forum", against granting of Indian visa to Bangladeshi feminist writer Taslim Nasreen turned Kolkata into a scene of flaming vehicles and scampering school children on 21 November 2007, forcing the deployment of army in the city after nearly 15 years. A call for a road-blockade went out of control as thousands of frenzied people from central Kolkata\'s Muslim-inhabited areas unleashed a free-for-all for hours. Taslima was first moved from Kolkata to Jaipur, a day after violent protests rocked Kolkata over her stay in India. She was then shifted to New Delhi the following day. The Intelligence Bureau kept her in a \'safe house\' within a National Security Guards complex in Delhi. Bangladeshi writer goes into hiding
The author\'s defenders, including some Muslim figures such as Dr Mansoor claim she is being used by the West Bengal government as a way of diverting attention from the dispute between the state and Muslim farmers in the rural district of Nandigram. Fourteen people were killed and reports of further violence have continued to shock India. Taslima said: "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 Bengal by the police.".Condemned to life as an outsider The Guardian, November 30, 2007
Until November 22, 2007, Taslima lived in the city of Kolkata, India, but was forced to leave the city in a rush, following security concerns raised by a violent agitation by several Muslim groups in the city that were demanding a stay on further extension of her Indian visa. Possibly urged on by the Bengal government, she flew to Rajasthan where she stayed in a hotel in Jaipur for one night. Due to threats by Islamic groups in Rajasthan, she was moved to New Delhiwww.rediff.com from where she was allegedly moved again to an undisclosed location.
India\'s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee assured Nasreen a "shelter" in India, but urged her to "refrain from activities and expressions" that may hurt the sentiments of Muslims in India and harm relations with friendly countries. Recognizing the mounting social pressure, Taslima apparently agreed to a compromise formula. On November 30, 2007 Taslima agreed to remove three pages from her book Dwikhondito (Split up into two). The book has been criticized by Muslims as "anti-Islamic". Taslima made a statement saying: It had not been her intention to "hurt anybody\'s religious sentiments"[ ]"Now that some people in India have said they are upset with what I have said, I have decided to drop the controversial portions of the book and have told the publisher to take necessary action,"[ ]"After these portions are removed, I think there will be no more scope for controversy and all the tension so far caused should die down." Leading writers were said to have welcomed the move.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7120473.stm BBC News Taslima Nasreen removes comment
Since the last week of November 2007 Taslima Nasreen has been kept in \'safe custody\' somewhere in New Delhi by the government of India.The Telegraph - Calcutta : Frontpage On 9 January 2008 Taslima Nasreen was selected for the Simone de Beauvoir feminist award in recognition of her writing on women rights Top French honour for Taslima Nasreen- Hindustan Times. However she declined to go to Paris to receive the award. http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=2&id=214371&usrsess=1 Taslima says ‘no’ to Sarkozy’s invitation for French honour] She declined to leave India and said that \'I don’t want to leave India at this stage and would rather fight for my freedom here.’ http://www.newagebd.com/2008/feb/19/front.html#11 She had to be hospitalized for three days with several complaints. The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Frontpage | ‘Freedom’ in hospital, for three nights In a letter to London-based human rights organisation Amnesty International India’s former foreign secretary Muchkund Dubey urged to exert pressure on government of India so that the Bangladeshi author’s current predicament gets over and she can return to her home in Calcutta. [http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&id=188160&usrsess=1 Amnesty help on Taslima sought
In an email interview from the undisclosed location of safe custody Taslima said that she was unable to bear the “deathly silence” on what is to be her fate in India. She is under serious mental pressure and cancelled the publication of the sixth part of her autobiography ‘’Nei Kichu Nei’’ (There is Nothing). Taslima informed, “I get food and necessities, but I don’t have freedom even to step out of where I am being confined. I have no freedom to receive friends. If it is urgently necessary to meet someone, and if after requesting I am allowed this, I am transported in a vehicle from which I cannot see clearly outside, to a third and secret place controlled by the government. The person I have asked to meet will also be brought to the third place in a similar car with blackened windows. There I will be able to talk with my friend for a specified period of time,” I’ve lost all creative freedom: Taslima On 20 January 2008 she wrote a poem which was published in the daily The Statesman published from Calcutta[citation needed]:
Was a poet ever kept in house arrest?
Taslima Nasreen
Was a poet ever kept in house arrest?
May be she has been a subject of politicking
True she caused clashes once in a while
May be an arson, too.
But no, a poet was never taken to safe custody.
This India, this civilization, this 21st century
They all had welcomed the poet
Ignoring its childish religionism, its merciless politics.
But today, the poet languishes in house arrest.
She has done no offense.
Having been deprived of the view of the sky
No longer she can tell how does the sky look like;
Deprived of the sight of men, no longer can she say how are folks today.
They have left leaving a world of darkness before the poet
They won\'t return ever, they informed.
Today for the one hundred and fiftieth day, the poet languishes in safe custody
For one hundred and fifty days the poet is unaware
If this earth yet hosts any creature with a human soul
For one hundred and fifty days the poet is unsure
If she is alive or dead.
Whom she will approach to ask back these days for?
Facing darkness the poet ponders
Who will restore sunrays into her life?
Who is there to bring her back the song of life?
O man, tell me, all who suffered in house arrest
Most of them were poets, a big consolation will that be,
It will relieve the burden of my aloneness.
(Translated by Faizul Latif Chowdhury)
Taslima has received a number of international awards in recognition of her uncompromising demand for freedom of expression. However, the Ananda Purashkar was awarded in 1992 to her as a recognition of her literary achievement. Awards and Honours given to her include the following:
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