Taslima Nasrin: The Woman Who Destroyed a Mosque (Or Did She?)

“In big cities people don’t invite each other to their homes,” laments Taslima Nasrin (also spelt as Nasreen) sitting in her Delhi apartment. And even if they do, Nasrin’s social plans may not unfold like that of her peers’ in the city. I got a taste of this when a bunch of cops stopped me from seeing her before they got a green light from her that I was, indeed, safe for her. Even when the interview had begun, one mufti-clad gentleman hovered around till she sent him out with a clear, “It’s ok, they are safe.”

It is not easy being Taslima Nasrin in a world where religious sentiments are waiting for an opportunity to be hurt with each verse recited, each word published, and each line drawn on paper.

“I Should Not Be Killed...”

On her coffee table rests a thick Charlie Hebdo commemorative edition, perched atop a wooden stand which is usually used for the Koran or the Ramayana. Nasrin had visited the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris and the staff gifted her the bright book to show their support to her.

She elicited extreme reactions from Muslim organisations for extending support to the publication that came under fire, literally, in 2015 for its irreverent treatment of the Prophet.

This irks her no less. “Like religious people have the right to express their religious views, I should also have the right to express my non-religious views. And I should not be killed for that.” In 1993, Bangladesh was full of posters and fliers that claimed Nasrin had demolished a mosque. The fundamentalists, unsurprisingly, are stranger to irony.

“You Won’t Miss a lot Because of Censorship”

Not everyone thinks like that, and certainly not her publishers. Before the camera began to roll, Nasrin had given out enough “quotes” to make for an explosive interview. Her displeasure with Penguin was palpable when she flipped through the pages of her newly published book Split — third of her seven-part autobiography.

This English translation carries a blank page with an editorial insert stating the reason for its inclusion. “I don’t know why they have done that. They have also used initials for some names. I was not afraid to take names! They have also shortened the title.” Such are the dynamics of the industry that very rarely do authors speak uncharitable things about their publishers. Trust Nasrin to be a pioneer everywhere. She is our original ‘Buri Ladki’

To break the social rules or patriarchal system, some people must start first. I started, and I was abused, I was cursed, and I was attacked, even physically. The fanatics said that I was destroying the society and social norms, and that I was making the women in our society into whores, or bad women.

Taslima Nasrin, author

All Nasrin was doing through her writings was to create a space for women to reclaim agency over their own bodies and challenge the tyranny of the male gaze.

“I Fell in Love Frequently”

Nasrin recounts her travails in Bangladesh during the 90s, when she was a young doctor, deeply committed to poetry of desire and resistance. She married, lived with her lovers, lived alone, travelled with male mentors in a society where no respectable woman would be imagined living such a life.

At one point during the interview she almost said the word ‘sex’ while describing one of her boyfriends. I smile when she says, “I had close relations with him” instead. All of us want to see Nasrin, the provocateur; we conveniently zoom out her vulnerabilities.

When asked about her father, Dr Rajab Ali, and his patriarchal ways, a shadow of defensiveness falls on her face. A nervous smile before she begins narrating the incident when she was brutally beaten up by him because some newspaper carried a slanderous column about her personal life. “He wanted me to become a doctor. He was an atheist. But one man can’t be perfect in all senses. That column made him mad.”

Men, Women, and Hypocrisy

No matter their differences, Nasrin repeatedly pleaded with the Bangladesh government to let her come back so that she could se her father. “My father was very ill and I wanted to be with him. The government did not allow me to come back to my country.”

Both Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia have kept her away from Bangladesh since 1994. Did she ever try to reach out to them woman to woman? “No, I didn’t. Women in power can be equally cruel as men. A male politician would have done the same thing.” Her disappointment with Hasina, a child of the 1971 liberation movement, is deeper than her personal sense of hurt.

I believe in secularism, write for women’s rights, human rights, and against religious fanaticism. I want a secular society. So, what is her problem? She’s supposed to believe in all that I believe in. But you know, politicians say that they believe in so many good things. But when they act, they are different. So, they are hypocrites.

Nasrin is no stranger to hypocrisy. She rues the fact that even her younger sister, Maumi Yasmin, lacked the courage to stand by her in public. “She was sometimes afraid of being called my sister. When I had all that political problem and the fatwas issued against me, she supported me but was afraid to support me loudly. She was afraid to introduce herself as my sister.”

“Will Not Support Violence to Live in India”

In 2005, she was forced to leave West Bengal because some Islamist organisations took offence, as usual, to her writings. “It was unfortunate because I wanted to live in Kolkata. I’m a Bengali writer and need a cultural environment.” These days, however, her ‘Hindu friends’ seem to be unhappy with her too.

I protested the killings of Gauri Lankesh, Kalburgi, Dabholkar and I know that many people, many Hindus, who once supported me don’t support me anymore. If I’m allowed to criticise only one religious fundamentalism but not another, it would be very sad.

Taslima Nasrin, Author

After her 1993 book, Lajja, the BJP took a real liking to Nasrin and supported her freedom of expression. A quid pro quo was not only insinuated but, perhaps, also expected. “If BJP supports me, I don’t automatically become a BJP supporter. Whatever I like to write, I write. I don’t think what would happen afterwards; whether I’d be kissed or kicked out, whether I’ll be used by some people… because if they use me for their own interest, it is their fault not mine.”

On her social media feeds, now Hindu fanatics are jostling for space with Muslim fanatics. Nasrin understands its implications.

“If because of a handful of intolerant people, I must leave India, it is also not good for India. If I have to support violence to live in India I would rather not live here.”

Now, that would be a real tragedy since a big Indian city would then lose an accomplished cook who loves to invite people over and stuns her guests with a lavish spread, old Bangladeshi style.

Yes, this, too, is Taslima Nasrin.