Taslima Nasreen – A Muslim Womans Dares But…………Her Voice Gets Stifled
Taslima Nasreen a Muslim woman who dared to protest against the ‘sad plight ‘of women in her community but was compelled to recant her intransigent writings a few days ago.
Taslima Nasrin/ Nasreen has been on the run from Islamic fundamentalists for over 14 years now ever since she published her thoughts in various writings especially her novella ‘Lajja’ (shame).
It all began in 1993 when this particular event proved cataclysmic.
In 1993, outraged by a series of newspaper columns in which she was critical of the treatment of women under Islam, including her writing about the execution in 1993 of a twenty-one-year-old woman at the behest of a local mullah. Declaring the young woman’s second marriage a violation of Islamic law, the mullah gathered the villagers together. First burying her waist deep in a pit, they stoned her with more than one hundred stones. Islamic fundamentalists issued a fatwa and offered a bounty for Taslima’s death.
Freedom of expression , a facet which most of us take for granted, airily voicing our opinions vociferously, stridently, often responsibly one would like to believe but many a times misusing it vapidly, if not rabidly, is proclaimed as ‘blasphemy’ by Islamic fundamentalists. Especially if it is a woman whose voice gets heard above the call of the muezzin and who threatens to expose first hand the horrendous conditions of regression and dominance she and others such as her are compelled to undergo because of a quirk of fate… being born Muslim…a choice less choice.
An excerpt from her writings:
‘If any religion allows the persecution of the people of different faiths, if any religion keeps women in slavery, if any religion keeps people in ignorance, then I can’t accept that religion.’
‘Freedom of expression for some is not enough.
We must work for freedom of expression for all.
Human rights for some is not enough.
We must work for the human rights for all.
Peace for some is not enough.
We must work for peace for all.
I, come what may, will not be silenced.
Come what may, I will continue my fight for equality and justice without any compromise until my death.
Come what may, I will never be silenced.’
“Even a mangy cur of the house barks now and then,
but over the mouths of women cheaply had,
there’s a lock, a golden lock.”
It elicits a ‘Bravo’ from me but a ‘Blasphemy ‘ from Islamist groups who have offered a bounty of Rs 500,000 for her beheading!
Taslima has been in exile from her home in Bangladesh since 1993 earlier in Europe, when she received the prestigious ‘ Sakharov Prize For Freedom of Thought’. While the western world has hailed her writings, home for her meant India as a second best alternative . Being a Bengali she preferred to live in Calcutta where she has been residing for the last two years .
By no stretch of imagination can her residence here be called ‘peaceful’. She has been continuously hounded, booed, threatened and victimised. Her 4 part biography has been banned in Bangladesh while “in November 2003, the West Bengal government in India banned the sale, distribution and collection of Taslima’s Dwikhandito, the 3rd part of her autobiography The ban was lifted by the High Court in September 2004.”
In a country like India where lakhs of Bangladeshi refugees continue to reside illegally and surrpetitiously, a brave woman who sought asylum legally has been stripped of her dignity and rights repeatedly.
The core of the post however is the turn of events in the last three weeks, when India has turned its back on her and Taslima has had to flee from Calcutta to Jaipur and Delhi, unable to find supporters willing to shield her from the unscrupulous and conniving ways of vacillating political games.
In an attempt to veer attention away from the Nandigram fiasco, West Bengal Government who lost face with Muslim vote bank since most of Nandigram farmers were Muslim, paroxysmically decided to use Taslima as pawn to covet the King. She was forced to escape fearing violent wrath, while hoping fatuously that her visa would be extended by the Centre. Turncoats are rampant in India…. underneath the masks all that remains is hollow empty eyes, with tongues hanging out, hungry for power, a metier they excel in….namely “Appeasement Politics”. Resultantly, Taslima had to cower down.
Most uncharacteristically and in an almost unprecedented action in her’ book of life’ Taslima with her back to the wall found herself playing a stroke on the back foot.
On November 30th 2007 Taslima agreed to removed two pages from her book Dwikhondito (Split into two). The book has been critisised 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 .
What a country of bigots we are. Salman Rushdie has been prosperously residing in Britain for almost three decades after being similarly threatened with various ‘fatwas’. But there aint no Muslim vote bank for the Brits to cater to. Hence Rushdies problems center around Padma Lakshmi and his now-on now-off marriage to her, or other love interests… while Taslima Nasreen has been running from pillar to post in India looking for protection from what she might have considered lofty Indians and their open minded principles of ‘democracy’ and individual rights only to shockingly realise that Gods have feet of clay in India. Nothing is what it appears to be especially inside high domed structures, of the Parliament, the temples or Masjids. These are inhabited by ‘mere’ mortals nowhere close to Godliness in thought word or deed.
What gain then, deleting those pages of ‘her truth’? Will truth now cease to exist or will women as she perceives them be free from the shame they face in circumstances they do? “Ostrich-head-buried-in-sand” attitude is tell tale of immaturity, short sightedness, and didactism for the sake of it.
As an Indian woman today I am ashamed at the stance taken by The Indian Government. “Lajja’ her title is applicable to women all over the world whose voice is stifled in return for granting them residence whether in the precincts of their own home or in a country that chest beating-ly refers to itself as ‘SECULAR”.
Paradoxically while I enjoy the freedom to say so, Taslima is facing humiliation, rejection, ostracism and being treated as an out cast for the same. The die has been cast. She has had to recant her statements in lieu of residence in India.
Ahh.. Eureka.. I get it. We continue to dwell in the Neanderthal age .. Barter is as yet an operating and valid mode of currency!!
Sachiniti 
Her willingness in to delete the ‘offending portions’ did shock me . But it only goes to prove that her level of anxiety and hopelessnes.
If I may I would say a ‘bravo’ to you Kaveetaa too.
I particularly liked
“What gain then, deleting those pages of ‘her truth’? Will truth now cease to exist or will women as she perceives them be free from the shame they face in circumstances they do? “Ostrich-head-buried-in-sand” attitude is tell tale of immaturity, short sightedness, and didactism for the sake of it.
As an Indian woman today I am ashamed at the stance taken by The Indian Government. “Lajja’ her title is applicable to women all over the world whose voice is stifled in return for granting them residence whether in the precincts of their own home or in a country that chest beating-ly refers to itself as ‘SECULAR”.”
Comment by Jatin Lall — December 5, 2007 @ 3:48 pm |
‘A Nation of Civilized People’
The women of Morocco are struggling to find a freedom for themselves and their country, as all peoples of a civilized society are trying to do in this world today. One of the most important aspects of creating a civilized society or its communities of trust, and interactive stature’s the rhetoric that goes behind the ideals of a great society, that’s found to be created by the communities of a lasting, and pervasive nature. The ideals of a great society that are found to be created by an intuitive, and civilized culture, or its communities of lasting and pervasive stature that are amassed by the awareness of an ideological, or communicative form of government or the skills of an intelligent learning which allow all beings to be brought closer to an established form of rhetoric or a society of intuitively educated and democratic people. All things in nature have balance. All things in nature have destiny. The human constitution’s based upon honesty, and not above nature’s law. The human constitution is like a dimension. The personality’s like a perspective. The constitution, and human personality are traveling to a point; and then back from that point gathering and reflecting opinions. The human constitution and personality will gather, and reflect any opinion subrisive or insubrisive that may be given to it in a theoretical orientated world. The personality, and human constitution are destined by their own destiny, and nurtured by love. Together, they’re traveling to a point; and then back from that point gathering and reflecting opinions in a theoretical world. The balance of civilization’s drawn upon these statures of trust, and interactive learning that are the ideals of a lasting, and humanitarian freedom that’s created from the harmony of a compliant, and idealized society. A culture of civilized trust and learning that’s based upon the principles of a lasting and ideological society that are to be created from a harmonious understanding that is to be found in the world today. But first we have to apply these concepts of intuitive trust, and learning in order to watch them grow with the success of a worldly fruitfulness, and harmony in the world today.
Comment by Janghanda — May 9, 2011 @ 2:13 pm |
Taslima Nasreen – A Muslim Womans Dares But. ..
Taslima Nasreen has deleted portions from her book to please the muslim findamentalists and also to stay in India. After so many years of fighting she had to give up..Tragic!
Trackback by ekjut.com — December 5, 2007 @ 3:56 pm |
The papers today mentioned that film is being made on her life with tabu in the main lead…nice na? She needs a lightening up
Comment by Neha — December 6, 2007 @ 2:38 pm |
Hi Jatin.. ‘anxiety and hopelessness’..you said it.
Hi Neha.. I believe so and if I am not mistaken there is also a Hollywood flick under way…way to go ?
Comment by kaveetaakaul — December 7, 2007 @ 12:45 pm |
Watch video of Taslima Nasreen being roughed up
Comment by DP — December 7, 2007 @ 4:07 pm |
again… does it have to be the ‘woe-the-man’ angle? the woman @ the eye of the storm n how the male bastion has wrecked n pulled back their biological counterparts to the Neanderthal? it has to be a global outcry again naa? never for once do i disagree that the global village has been offset towards the men – it has been used to hurt the sense and sensibilities of the women but… aint things changing? if u are happy with the pace of ‘india shining’ n u tell me that ‘i-never-promised-an-overnite-change’ and patience wud show how great we are as a country.. how we are the future… then plz.. sachiniti.. wait.. its not the stone age still.
TN, as a case can be an example of how religious bigots have again tried to etch the sexual divide and use the tell-tales to degrade the woman clan but does the birdz eye view look just as bad as you have felt? and everytime we have some issue, we raise the man-woman oppression/divide/dominance angles.. so when wud we even highlight that times-are-a-changing?
the society is not cleansed. but we are moving towards a reformed period – and here we includes the so-called ‘male militia’. when wud we really stop turning back into the pages of history? i think today, there is a huge change! women no longer are a gender apart – its hand holding, sharing of command and collaborative effort in all walks of life. u have a woman as the first citizen of this nation! now again u mite bring the political ploys but then… the divide is not there anymore. if laloo eats cow fodder, mayawati knows how to spin a million bucks! if sachin is a master blaster, u have Ms Bula (if i am not wrong..) as the woman cricketer of the year… u have sonia gandhi as a party presi n people respect her over all the issues of a different nationality… do i need to draw the halo for the female populace – that wud be sad … wanna say that, in any issue, lets not drag the gender divide… then we wud never have the mutual respect and the equality wud never be there.. it wud be like, proving and making women come to the fore-front and ‘men’ taking credit for that! there are no reformers in this society – and there are no dictators, neither religious, biological or otherwise.. its merit n we are moving towards it… lets not turn the page
TN led a peaceful life @ calcutta, rather quite a public fig, she was there @ book fairs (calcutta buk fair is a huge event) before this issue came up. mite be political, mite be vote bank tickets… but then, again, i have a question… don we have problems enuf? i mean, all the women, men, children in our country are happy?? or its like we are so magnanimous that we have to solve all that is pouring out of other nations as well?? she was in Europe, France precisely – why cant the European nations welcome her? why not the USA? i am not being selfish but why be self-less when ur own house is in shambles? Nandigram, the SEZ@ Shingur, the death of democracy in West Bengal… n all we can think of is TN n how sad n helpless she is…
we have our own baggage – let us sort that out but coz of some external stimulus there is unrest inside… whatever be the reason… we start off solving the su-do-ku… the world over only india is the hell-hole of all problems, religious/political/technical… n still we fite to deal with them .. its ironic 🙂
TN has written abt the islamic wonders – din u know abt these? havent we seen/heard abt such incidents in rural india?? why din we try to take a stand.. india is a secular country – then why din we try to remove the divides.. just coz she is famous and needs a roof – come on…
wat she has written is a known fact.. only she has been autobiographical n precise… lets address the root cause – not the carrier. n hope ud not see this as a man vs woman thing… its not paleolithic age.. its the transition… n its very much happening… lets not look back at the clots ‘we – the people’ left behind..
Comment by saptarshi — December 8, 2007 @ 11:29 am |
Taslima nasreen has been stabbed in the back.. Mera Bharat mahan
Comment by DP — December 8, 2007 @ 11:09 pm |
Well said. Delete a few lines, win a battle and lose the war.
Comment by Anil Brar — December 9, 2007 @ 7:25 pm |
Sapt..sorry for the delay in response..I was on Sachiniti off and on but for most part not more than a few minutes . Your impassioned response merited one in equal measure 🙂
You definitely are giving it a slant not in the least intended vis a vis women. My title also mentions Muslim . would you then immediately derive the post to be a hindu muslim divide? Apart from the header the word ‘woman’ was ne’er ever mentioned again and neither was there any implication of the sort you have so elucidated on. I disagree.
The only reason that her gender was brought into focus was to highlight perhaps that in a sect where women are to a large degree in Purdah, one of them has broken shackles and taken it on herself to expose what she considers dserving of attention and repair.. if one may say so.
She decided to speak of it in her home town originally.. Did she foresee deportation? How can we as a culture turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to someone who has single handedly displayed courage in the face of stiff opppsition. yes we are riddled with similar problems and diverse stigma on a myriad issues. if anything this should help hone our abilities to empathise not polarise.And to reiterate firmly, it has nothing whatsoever to do with a man woman divide. It has to do with a human being braving fierce vicissitudes for no obviously selfish ends and for India lending out a sympathetic shoulder. I thought we were economically backward, not humanistically.
The now-come-hither, now-go away attitude is downright repulsive. either we should have denied her entry at the first sign of her desire to set home here..or then forever keep our peace.. as they say. Pawn like manoevuring her to meet the machinations of political gain is what is highly objectionable to me as an Indian. I need to think of my country as a fair, secular, democratic one, albeit in the throes of anarchy, which however is not reason enough to harass a single roofless woman!! It reeks of depravity of the lowest order. Share sorrow it halves, share happiness it doubles is a dictum i believe in and so do most progressive individuals. There is no place for petty minded, closed narrow myopic thinking which benefits none but brings harm to another.
Comment by kaveetaakaul — December 11, 2007 @ 12:46 pm |
@ sachiniti –
u think this post is gender-neutral? in words n essence – woman comes in all over.
n wrt to the myopia/short sighted/narrow minded n the greater sense of India…. plz i can see what the progressive people hav done to this country.. n again if ud define the term? who does draw the charter of progressiveness??
CPM does not need TN as a pawn to increase its vote bank… check out the political fabric of WB, ud know then! n ya…
we never knew that TN wants to set up her base camp in calcutta – she never proclaimed that when she sought her visa n just becoz she speaks the language, we need to give her the red carpet? n do u mean to say that ud be so much as passionate if it were someone of the opposite sex? its abt her works n ideas but then there is gender flavor all over!
did u need TN to uphold the virtues n vice of this religion? havent people fought against these n broken free? havent people been trampled also? is TN a special element from the charts of human existence?
india is not a coconut tree wherein u can just say that we need to set our sights high-above.. its a banyan tree with all the stilts and props.. its broad.. its huge n u have to feed the sap to all the branches…
the aircraft security procedures have it for one to put on their oxy masks in emergency before helping out the elderly n children…
‘democractic secular republic’ as my country is.. is not what it is today n surely one day it would be, but then TN is not a case study to prove that we need to act wise. wht aint the big brothers of earth-land worried? USofA? EU countries? its only the Bong connection that has to tie the bell to calcutta, WB n india??
share sorrow it halves…?? but the sorrows seem to roll on! the murders of children, the burning of people, the murder of foreign missionaries… come on! n all we can cry over is TN?? we din get a better nucleus to grow our maturity levels??
a single roof-less woman n a home-less man – r they on the same levels? ur post seems quite offset towards the earlier.
harm to TN is harm n the issue on this that is leading to the unrest in the lives of so many common people is nothing huh? all for humanity? on the scales of life, measured by the units of national needs/ideals, TN is like a freebie of what we are trying to weed out. its not magnanimity – its not ideals, its practicality.
i don know what u wanna see but then issues which can burn some houses, innocent people.. no! with all short sightedness, id rather say… its not worth. ideals don make life on the roads – what is there… is what we live with n there, at this point in time, we have better things to think about. its again not petty coz focus is myopic… n thatz better focus. progressiveness has bought glory to how many? 70% still ride animal drawn carts and 39% are still illiterate! 60% women still are harassed over dowry n here we are making a la joan of arc of?? TN dares- slant all the way! many a dare.. many a cry, many a fite… many many! n still all we can is think that we still are myopic n petty… sad n ironic to read that sachiniti feels this way
Comment by saptarshi — December 11, 2007 @ 4:03 pm |
Point of clairification’ myopic and pettiness as opposed to progressivenesss and largesse ‘ was meant to imply basis of behaviour ought to be adopted by Governmental agencies..not individuals as in you or me.I almost always prefer to stay away from personal inferences of any kind Sapt…you know that. A debate is always on the issue at hand..and its always welcome.
Reason to expatiate has ALWAYS been a crying need to draw attention to either a glaring anomaly or creating awareness as catalyst to change. When you say ‘ all we can think of is TN” its grossly unfair..especially from you who has been regular here. Were not Moninder Singh’s atrocites highlighted for months updated one after another? Was not the Professor roughed by NSUI activists spoken of? A wrong , simply because it is a woman, or not of our nationality ceases to be one? Will apathy towards her plight make even a fraction of a difference to to the other hundred problems faced in WB? Is she eating away into valuable resources? Is she the land of Singur that grows treasures? How is she a freebie? is it always only about economic criteria? I cannot fathom this increased resisitance towards her. Since the gender issue has been raised by you let me counter it by asking you.. Does you antagonism stem from the fact that she is a woman? Would it have been under the level of tolerance gage if he was a man? Maturity is NOT selective. It either functions uniformly across the board or not at all. if it is based on specifics, it is not maturity but hypocrisy. Onecan either be faithful or unfaithful. there is nothing like a ‘thodi si bewafai’..to give you an example. One either reacts to fundamental wrongs irrespective of boundaries or then one chooses ones issues with personal level of bias..which then nullifies credibility.
The fact that a percentage of India is in carts, illiteracy or poverty are irrelevant to this context..I wonder why they have even been brought up. In the 250 posts on Sachiniti, whatever can be possibly written has been.. As a rule a blog owes focus to the topic at hand for cohesiveness and communication. It cannot possibly turn into a thesis.
Comment by kaveetaakaul — December 12, 2007 @ 8:57 am |
the illiteracy, the cart, the poverty are all relevant – very much so, when we can think of TN as the being the ‘cross of changes’! since u asked, i do clarify – that even if she would have been of the opposite sex, i would have still given it a pass. her/his gender is not at all an issue when there are a zillion cases dangling over our heads. n if u speak of WB, let me tell you, the last thing that is needed there is – is TN. there is one way of curing a thing gone wrong and there is one way of not letting there be any room for error at all. ya, its a waste when it comes to all the effort that needs to be there in trying to solve this. n trust me, if u read the books, i have read Lajja, in bengali… n again trust me… the way its written, anyone can write! the religious dogmas of islam esp towards the woman… don you know? don we all know how pathetic, how wrong n how painful it is?? she has added that personal tears, she has projected case studies n even as literature, its not worth a battle. overall… as i wanna say, its not like we are trying to protect someone who is a warrior! who is standing against the tide… rather its just that we are makin an issue outta her – which we cannot afford just now. man or woman, calcutta or jaipur – she doesnt need the mileage she is getting and here…. in the present day condition, its just distraction.
agreed! the case, the issue with her, the forces acting on her, the pressures, treatments – everything, all of it are wrong. but its not a national issue. it is not even an issue for the state. how many things can we protest for? to solve a singular issue ur ready to let a mass unrest follow? we can support the issue morally but investing time/resource n even trying to polarize opinion in her favor?? seems quite a luxury as we stand rite now.
she has become an issue since we love making issues outta simple things! thatz how her works, her stand n she as a person has come to the forefront. there are many who take battles of life to heart but TN…. no
its just not worth it…. in a game of chess u don sacrifice ur bishop to protect ur pawn – everything in life is selective, is comparative n evaluation of the balance sheet is needed. not just for the money, but for the overall battle of life… of/for the greater good. to win or lose at the end of the day. n in fiting her way.. maybe she can be a winner… but it would be an individual n the fall-out wud be pretty large.
mite not be the ideal way of life.. but well there are certain while lies we live with.. we are conscious about n we move on coz… its not abt a TN, its abt givin people an issue which is just unnecessary – now.
‘bari wafa seh.. nibha-e tumne hamari thodi se bewafai…’ nice song 🙂 u made me remember – i don know if i can expain to u in words.. but TN, has never been of any good.. even when people din question her stand n ideas… its just that all the undercurrents n motives with which we live.. uncalled for.
Comment by saptarshi — December 12, 2007 @ 4:24 pm |
Oh Brother..the stab in the back turns nto a badge of merit. Whoa!!!!
Comment by cactus — December 13, 2007 @ 3:08 pm |
Thank you so much for supporting Taslima. There should be serious penalties for abridging freedom of expression. Islamofascists should be deported or face long sentences of hard labor for the cowardly persecution of this jewel of a woman. She should consider seeking refuge in Kerala where a woman’s opinions are rspected. I am in Seattle. In this country we have an organization called United American Committee to expressly address the threats to civilization coming from the Islamic World. I think you need one in India, too.
Comment by John Coelho — December 17, 2007 @ 10:09 am |
asssalamwalaikum
she dont have a right to heart any one
so why she is hearting specially muslim community .
if she want to desire her knowledge
she shold meet to MR. ZAKIR NAIK FOR DEBATE
IN FRONT OF PUBLIC
Comment by FAIYAZ — December 25, 2007 @ 5:55 pm |
hey..i totally agree with taslima..there is no freedom of speech for the women.i am from pakistan and a muslim and i also face alot of problems in my daily life. i am in 11th grade and i am not allowed to go out with my fiends and go on school trips or sleepovers.it is very embrassing for me because everybody from my school then asks that WHY NOT?am like it my dad and i am not allowed to question my dad.if he says some thing it has to be done otherwis you will probably be beaten up or threaten to be kicked out of the house.then they say is it your religion but before i use to say that no its not the religion!its just our culture. but now i understand religion lead the culture.
although i still some times think over this but i say to my self that maybe its not the religion, its just the people who make up stuff or they just make up their on thories that women should be treated like this. THING REALLY NEED TO CHANGE HERE! and the step which taslima took was a good one!
i hope it all chages one day.
we have to chage the stupid mentallity of some muslim extremeists or men who think like that.
Comment by zainab — February 27, 2009 @ 2:14 pm |
Itna Sab Kuch Bolnese Pahle Islam Kya hai our Kya chahta Hai Uska Dekho, Zindagi Bigadneke Liye Bahuth loog hai, Lekin sudharneke liye sirf allah our uske rasool. Pahle Dekho ke taslima nasrin muslim to hai lekin uska libas, uska huliya our surat ya chahra to dekho jo thoda bhi noor nahi, bilkul sada huwa kela lagti hai.
Comment by jishan — July 22, 2009 @ 11:11 pm |
Oh!!! Luckily I did not born as MUSLIM. I can critizize my religion at any level if i don’t agree with any phylosophy in it. Nobody can question me. I really feel very shame about the people who appose about the diamond of women Tasleema Nasreen.
Comment by LuckyMan — August 7, 2009 @ 8:16 pm |
By keeping discussion in mind I will like to share a website http://zakirnaikblog.blogspot.com which is a website about great islamic scholar Zakir Naik who made a lot oif non muslims to accept islam by his speeches.
Comment by Bilal Khan — September 2, 2009 @ 4:13 pm |
i support Taslima Nasrin.
Comment by dr.Hasan — December 11, 2009 @ 2:15 am |