Wikipedia

Taslima Nasrin

Author, secular humanist, feminist

Taslima Nasrin (born 25 August 1962) is a Bangladeshi writer and doctor. She writes about problems of women's oppression and criticizes religion. Some of her books are banned in Bangladesh.[2][3][4] She has been banned from Bangladesh and also from the Indian state of West Bengal.[5][6] In the early 1990s, she gained international prominence with her essays and novels that expressed feminist notions along with criticism of women-hostile religions.[7][8] Because of death threats, she has lived in exile since 1994.[9] After over a decade of living in Europe and the USA, in 2004, she shifted to India and has been living there on a long-term visa.[10][11]

Taslima Nasrin
তসলিমা নাসরিন
Nasrin in 2019
Born (1962-08-25) 25 August 1962 (age 62)
Mymensingh, East Pakistan
EducationMymensingh Medical College[1]
Occupations
  • Author
  • activist
Years active1973–present
MovementWomen's Equality, Human Rights, Freedom of Speech, Atheist, Scientism, Tolerance
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1982; div. 1986)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1990; div. 1991)​
  • Minar Mahmud
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1991; div. 1992)​
Websitetaslimanasrin.com
Signature

Early life and career

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Nasrin is the daughter of Dr. Rajab Ali and Edul Ara, Bengali Muslims from Mymensingh. Her father was a doctor and a professor at several medical colleges. After finishing high school in 1976 and college in 1978, she studied medicine at Mymensingh Medical College and obtained her MBBS degree in 1984.[12]

While still at college, she wrote and edited a poetry magazine called Shenjuti.[13] After graduating, she worked at a family planning clinic in Mymensingh, then at the gynaecology department of Mitford Hospital and the anesthesia department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. While working she saw many girls who had been raped and heard women cry in despair if their baby was a girl.[14] She was born into a Muslim family but later in life became an atheist.[15] Her writing reflected a feminist approach.[16]

Literary career

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Early in her career, Nasrin had written mainly poetry, and from 1982 to 1993 issued six collections. Her poems spoke to many of female oppression and displayed very graphic language.[14] She started writing prose in the late 1980s, publishing three essay collections along with four novels before her documentary novel Lajja (Bengali: লজ্জা). This novel told of a Hindu family under attack from Muslim fanatics, which drove them to flee their country. Nasrin faced many physical and other attacks for criticizing Islam and demanding women’s equality. Hundreds of thousands of fanatics demanded her execution. In October 1993, a radical group called the Council of Islamic Soldiers announced a reward for her death.[14][17] In May 1994, she gave an interview to The Statesman, which quoted her as advocating a revision of the Quran. She claims all she did was advocate the abolition of Sharia, the Islamic law.[18] In August 1994 she was indicted for inflammatory remarks. Tens of thousands of Islam fundamentalists attacked her as an apostate. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators labeled her an apostate and a militant faction threatened to release poisonous snakes in the capital unless she was executed.[19] After two months in hiding, she fled to Sweden in the end of 1994, gave up medical practice and became a full-time writer and activist.[20]

Life in exile

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After leaving Bangladesh in 1994, Nasrin lived in Sweden, Germany, France, and the US for ten years. She moved to Kolkata in India in 2004 and stayed there till 2007. After being attacked in Hyderabad, she was put under house arrest in Kolkata and then forced to leave West Bengal on November 22, 2007. She was under house arrest in New Delhi for three months before leaving India in 2008. She later returned to India from the US. Nasrin’s Bangladeshi passport was revoked, and she got Swedish citizenship, taking refuge in Germany.[21] She had to wait six long years from 1994 to 1999 to get a visa to visit India. In 1998, she wrote "Meyebela, My Bengali Girlhood," related to her early life. A Bangladeshi passport never came her way before her parents died to visit them.[22]

2004–2007, life in Kolkata

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In 2004, the Indian government gave Taslima Nasrin a temporary residential permit to relocate to Kolkata in West Bengal.[23] The Indian government extended her visa periodically but did not grant her citizenship, though Taslima called Kolkata her home. In Kolkata, she began writing for Indian newspapers and magazines. Her criticism of Islam invoked opposition from religious fundamentalists, including death threats and bounties against her.[24][25][26] In 2007, the members of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen had attacked her during a book release function at Hyderabad.[27][28] Three members of the party were arrested in that connection.[29][30][31][32]

Expulsion from Kolkata

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On 9 August 2007, Nasrin was in Hyderabad to present the Telugu translation of her novel "Shodh". Then she was allegedly attacked by a mob led by members of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, an Indian Islamic political party.[33][34] A week later, on 17 August, Muslim leaders in Kolkata revived an old fatwa against her that she had to leave the country and offered unlimited amount of money for her death.[35] On November 21, chaos erupted owing to a protest organized by "All India Minority Forum" in Kolkata. And the army was deployed in order to restore the situation.[36] Nasrin was forced to move from Kolkata to Jaipur and then to New Delhi.[37][38][39] The Indian government kept her in an undisclosed location in New Delhi for over seven months.[40] In January 2008 she was selected for the Simone de Beauvoir award for her writing on women's rights but declined to go to Paris to receive it.[41][42] She canceled publication of part of her autobiography and deleted some passages from another book.[43] She migrated to Sweden in 2008 and later worked at New York University.[44] She donated her body to medical purposes in India after her death.[45] Them She eventually returned to India, but was forced to stay in New Delhi as the West Bengal government refused to permit her entry.[46] In 2015, she received a threat from Al Qaeda-linked extremistsves.[47] and came to America with the help of the Center for Inquiry.[48]

Other activities

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Awards

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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:

Bibliography

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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. ISBN 978-81-88575-05-3. Trans. in English as Getting Even.
  • Nimontron (Invitation), 1993.
  • Phera (Return), 1993.
  • Lajja, 1993. ISBN 978-0-14-024051-1. 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

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Secondary works

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References

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  1. ↑ "Taslima Nasreen". The Lancet. 363 (9426): 2094. June 2004. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(04)16477-5. S2CID 54309583.
  2. ↑ "Bangladesh bans new Taslima book". BBC News. Archived from the original on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  3. ↑ "Bangladesh bans third Taslima book". BBC News. 27 August 2002. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  4. ↑ "Split printer on strikeback path - Signature drive to protest Taslima book ban, high court suit in mind". The Telegraph. Kolkota. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  5. ↑ "Mahasweta Devi Slams Bengal Govt for Banishing Taslima". Outlook.
  6. ↑ Parthsarathi, Mona (3 February 2014). "Facing bans, Taslima Nasreen says no hope of returning to Kolkata". DNA India. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  7. ↑ Bagchi, Suvojit (21 March 2015). "'Don't call me Muslim, I am an atheist'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  8. ↑ "Why are Hindus trying to prove that they can become ISIS-like extremists: Taslima Nasreen". ThePrint. 14 December 2017. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  9. ↑ "Taslima Nasrin's Life in Exile". 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  10. ↑ "Taslima Nasreen's long-term visa extended by just 2 months". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  11. ↑ "Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin opens up on her Delhi connect". Hindustan Times. 29 October 2016. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  12. ↑ Devarajan, Arthi (Spring 1998). "Taslima Nasrin". Postcolonial Studies. Emory University. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "Nasrin, Taslima – Postcolonial Studies". scholarblogs.emory.edu. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Targett, Simon (24 February 1995). "She who makes holy men fume". Times Higher Education. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  15. ↑ Nasreen, Taslima (12 November 1999). "For freedom of expression". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  16. ↑ O'Connor, Ashling (30 November 2007). "Feminist author rewrites novel after death threats from Muslim extremists". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  17. ↑ "Bangladesh: A group called the Sahaba Soldiers; the goals and activities of the group; treatment of those who hold progressive religious and social views by the Sahaba Soldier members (1990–2003)". United Nations High Commission for Refugees. 29 July 2003. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  18. ↑ "Nasrin Sahak, Taslima: Bangladeshi author". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 29 June 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  19. ↑ Walsh, James (15 August 1994). "Death To the Author". Time. Archived from the original on 18 October 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  20. ↑ "Bangladeshi author and doctor Taslima Nasreen threatened by Islamic fundamentalists". Fileroom. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  21. ↑ Richards, David (25 July 1998). "Home is where they hate you". The Nation. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
  22. ↑ Rahman, Shaikh Azizur (3 June 2015). "Taslima Nasrin Moved to US Following Death Threats in India". Voice of America. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  23. ↑ Dam, Marcus (26 November 2007). "Kolkata is my home". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 1 December 2007.
  24. ↑ Bhaumik, Subir (27 June 2006). "Cleric quizzed over author threat". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  25. ↑ "Imam issues fatwa against Taslima". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  26. ↑ "Fatwa to blacken Taslima's face". Hindustan Times. 27 June 2006. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  27. ↑ "MLA vows to 'behead' Taslima Nasreen". IBN Live. 11 August 2007. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  28. ↑ "MIM vows to implement 'fatwa' against Taslima". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 11 August 2007. Archived from the original on 28 August 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  29. ↑ "Hyderabad police lodge case against Taslima Nasreen". rediff. 11 August 2007. Archived from the original on 24 January 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  30. ↑ "Three MLAs arrested for attack on Taslima Nasreen". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  31. ↑ "Taslima Nasreen attacked in Hyderabad during book launch". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  32. ↑ "MIM activists rough up Taslima Nasreen in Hyderabad". DNA. 9 August 2007. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  33. ↑ "Taslima roughed up in Hyderabad". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 10 August 2007. Archived from the original on 4 November 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  34. ↑ "Target Taslima: No room for critics in Islam?". CNN-IBN. 10 August 2007. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  35. ↑ Hossain, Rakeeb (18 August 2007). "Fatwa offers unlimited money to kill Taslima". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 10 January 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  36. ↑ "Army deployed after Calcutta riot". BBC News. 21 November 2007. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  37. ↑ Ramesh, Randeep (27 November 2007). "Bangladeshi writer goes into hiding". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  38. ↑ "Shunned writer Taslima Nasreen arrives in Indian capital". Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 23 November 2007. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  39. ↑ Bhaumik, Subir (22 November 2007). "Calcutta calm after day of riots". BBC News. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  40. ↑ Vij-Aurora, Bhavna (8 December 2007). "Bad hair days, short of colour: Taslima misses beauty regime and machher jhol in 'house arrest'". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on 11 December 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  41. ↑ "Top French honour for Taslima Nasreen". Hindustan Times. 14 January 2008. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  42. ↑ "Taslima won't travel to France to collect award". India Today. Indo-Asian News Service. 25 January 2008. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  43. ↑ Bhattacharya, Kajari (21 January 2008). "I've lost all creative freedom: Taslima". The Statesman. As she lives in an undisclosed location in New Delhi, writer Taslima Nasreen ... In an exclusive e-mail interview she gave to The Statesman, the controversial writer said she is unable to concentrate on her writing ... She also indicated that she had deleted passages from her controversial book Dwikhandito under mental pressure ... The writer said she had no idea when she would find release from what she called this unendurable loneliness, this uncertainty and this deathly silence ... The Bangladeshi writer cancelled the publication of the sixth part of her autobiography Nei Kichu Nei (There is Nothing) ... because she said she was unable to meet the deadline.
  44. ↑ "A memory of home". Ibnlive.in.com. 3 February 2010. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  45. ↑ "Writer Taslima pledges body to Indian NGO". 7 March 2005. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  46. ↑ "Taslima Nasreen's Indian visa extended by a year". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  47. ↑ "Amid Death Threats from Islamists, CFI Brings Secular Activist Taslima Nasrin to Safety in U.S." Center for Inquiry. June 2015. Archived from the original on 2 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  48. ↑ "Taslima Nasrin Moved to US Following Death Threats in India". VOA News. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  49. ↑ Emeritus Board Archived 2 June 2024 at the Wayback Machine Reporters Without Borders (RWB).
  50. ↑ "Peoplesbooksociety - People's book society". peoplesbooksociety.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  51. ↑ "1988-1998|Laureates|Sakharov Prize". sakharovprize. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  52. ↑ "RFI - Exiled writer Taslima Nasreen awarded Simone de Beauvoir prize". Radio France Internationale. Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  53. ↑ "1994 – Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'homme". Cncdh.fr. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  54. ↑ "Taslima - l'Humanite". 5 November 2007. Archived from the original on 5 November 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  55. ↑ "Eleanor Smeal Announces 1994 Feminist of the Year Awards". Hartford-hwp.com. 3 January 1995. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  56. ↑ "Scholarship holders / Alumni: Taslima Nasrin". Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst. Archived from the original on 21 August 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  57. ↑ International Humanist and Ethical Union (3 March 2006). "IHEU awards | International Humanist and Ethical Union". Iheu.org. Archived from the original on 18 August 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  58. ↑ "Festivity of the Erwin Fischer Award 2002 to Ms. Taslima Nasrin | International League of Non-religious and Atheists". IBKA. Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  59. ↑ "Freethought Heroine Award". 2 October 2006. Archived from the original on 2 October 2006. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  60. ↑ "Carr Center for Human Rights Policy". Hks.harvard.edu. Archived from the original on 1 October 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  61. ↑ "UNESCO Taslima Nasrin, winner of the 2004 UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the promotion of tolerance and non-violence". UNESCO. 14 October 2004. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  62. ↑ "Viewpoint - Taslima Nasrin, Winner of the 2004 UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization". UNESCO.
  63. ↑ Banerjee, Sudeshna (30 April 2005). "Bitter, Taslima stays afloat". The Telegraph (Kolkata). Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on 28 October 2005. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  64. ↑ "CREP - Prix condorcet-Aron 2005". 28 September 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  65. ↑ "Le Groupe Femmes, Politique et Démocratie reçoit le prestigieux 'Prix Condorcet-Aron' du Centre de recherche et d'étude politique de Belgique". 22 September 2005. Archived from the original on 16 October 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  66. ↑ "Official Home Page of Taslima Nasrin". Taslimanasrin.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  67. ↑ Hogan, Ron (23 October 2009). "Feminist Press Celebrates 39th Anniversary – GalleyCat". Mediabistro.com. Archived from the original on 26 November 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  68. ↑ "Discours du Professeur Nathalie Delzenne". Universite Catholique de Louvain (in French). Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  69. ↑ "Ville d'Esch-sur-Alzette". Ville d'Esch-sur-Alzette. Archived from the original on 16 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  70. ↑ "Autour de Taslima Nasreen". Ville de Metz. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015.
  71. ↑ "Autour de Taslima Nasreen". Archived from the original on 11 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  72. ↑ "Les cérémonies - Université Paris Diderot-Paris 7". univ-paris-diderot.fr.
  73. ↑ amiando. "Programme/Program Journée Internationale "Citoyenneté universelle et liberté mondiale de circulation et d'installation des personnes" Paris". amiando. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  74. ↑ "In the meantime." Taslima Nasrin's Blog. 15 June 2013. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  75. ↑ "Honorary Associates". National Secular Society. Archived from the original on 2020-08-02. Retrieved 2024-09-14.

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