A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
Taslima Nasrin was born in August 1962 to a Muslim family
in Mymensingh, East Pakistan. Because the area became independent in 1971,
her city of birth is now in the country called Bangladesh.
Growing up in a highly restrictive and conservative environment, Taslima was
fond of literature while she also excelled in science. She started writing
when she was 15 years old, beginning with poetry in literary magazines, and
afterwards herself editing a literary periodical called Senjuti (1978
- 1983). She was the president of a literary organization while in medical
school, where she staged many cultural programs. Earning her medical degree
in 1984, she worked in public hospitals for eight years.
Her
first book - of poetry - was published in 1986. Her second became a huge
success in 1989, and editors of progressive daily and weekly newspapers
suggested that she write regular columns. Next she started writing about
women's oppression. With no hesitation she criticized religion, traditions,
and the oppressive cultures and customs that discriminate against women. Her
strong language and uncompromising attitude against male domination stirred
many people, eliciting both love and hatred from her readers.
In 1992 she received the prestigious literary award Ananda from West
Bengal in India for her Nirbachito Kolam (Selected Columns), the
first writer from Bangladesh to earn that award. Despite allegations of
jealousy among other writers about this, the topmost intellectuals and
writers continued to support her.
Islamic fundamentalists launched a campaign against her in 1990, staging
street demonstrations and processions. They broke into newspaper offices
that she used to regularly write from, sued her editors and publishers, and
put her life in danger, a danger that only increased over time. She was
publicly assaulted several times by fundamentalist mobs. No longer was she
welcomed to any public places, not even to book fairs that she loved to
visit. In 1993, a fundamentalist organization called Soldiers of Islam
issued a fatwa against her, a price was set on her head because of her
criticism of Islam, and she was confined to her house. The government asked
her to quit writing if she hoped to keep her job, then confiscated her
passport. She was thus forced to quit her job.
Inasmuch as she had become a best-selling author in Bangladesh and West
Bengal in India, she managed to survive the hostility. The government,
however, banned Lajja (Shame), in which she described the atrocities
against Hindu minorities by Muslim fundamentalists, her main message being
"Let humanism be the other name of religion."
According to Taslima, the religious scriptures are out of sync with the
present. Instead of religious laws, she maintains, what is needed is a
uniform civil code that accords women equality and justice. Her views caused
fourteen different political and non-political religious organizations to
unite for the first time, starting violent demonstrations, calling a general
strike, blocking government offices, and demanding her immediate execution
by hanging. The government, instead of taking action against the
fundamentalists, turned against her. A case was filed charging that she hurt
people's religious feelings, and a non-bailable arrest warrant was issued.
Deeming prison to be an extremely unsafe place, Taslima went into hiding for
two months.
In the meantime two more fatwas were issued by Islamic extremists, two more
prices were set on her head, and thousands of fundamentalists took to the
streets, demanding her death. Processions featuring swords and snakes
thumped through the streets of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The
majority who were not fundamentalists remained silent. Regardless, some
anti-fundamentalist political groups did protest the fundamentalist
uprising, daring to defend Taslima as a writer and a human being who should
have the freedom to express her views. Yet only a few writers defended her
rights. Some gave statements to the newspapers complaining about the
fundamentalists as well as the government's activities. Because this proved
insufficient, PEN, the international organization of writers, and many
humanist organizations beyond the borders of Bangladesh came to Taslima's
support. News of her plight became known throughout the world. Some western
democratic governments that endorse human rights and freedom of expression
tried saving her life. After long miserable days in hiding, she was finally
granted bail but was also forced to leave her country.
In 1998, without the government's permission she risked a return, to be with
her ailing mother. Again, fundamentalists demanded she be killed and again
she was forced to leave. When her mother - a religious Muslim - died, nobody
came from any mosque to lead her funeral, her crime being that she was the
mother of an infidel.
Taslima has been living in exile in
Europe. She has written twenty-four books of poetry, essays, novels, and
short stories in her native language of Bengali. Some have been translated
into twenty different languages. Her applications to the Bangladesh
government to be allowed to return have been denied repeatedly. One
Bangladesh court sentenced her in absentia to a one-year prison term. The
Bangladesh government has recently banned two other of her books, Amar
Meyebela and Utal Hawa.
Meanwhile, the numerous awards she has received in western countries have
publicized her struggle for women's rights and freedom of expression. In
2000, she again received the Ananda award for her memoir, Amar
Meyebela (My Girlhood), a symbol of one who fights for free speech,
Taslima has been invited to speak in many countries and at renowned
universities throughout the world. Her dreams of secularization of Islamic
countries and secular instead of religious education are becoming
increasingly more accepted and honored by those who value freedom.
Warren Allen Smith
