Bhubaneswar: Exiled Bangladeshi author and feminist activist Taslima Nasrin stated on Tuesday that women have hope in secular states and emphasized the importance of separating state and religion to achieve true equality for women. Nasrin argued that feminism is not a Western concept but rather influenced by her personal experiences. ‘Where the State is secular, women have hope,’ she expressed at a function in Bhubaneswar. She described the global conflict as one between secularism and fundamentalism, and between rational thought and blind faith. ‘I still believe that change is possible if we are brave enough to ask questions,’ Nasrin asserted. The author of works such as ‘Lajja’ and ‘Dwikhandita’ noted that strict interpretations of religion are detrimental to women.
She highlighted that religious influence in governance adversely affects women across all communities during her lecture at the SOA Deemed to be University. Nasrin insisted that laws should be based on equality and human rights rather than religious doctrines that limit women’s rights. A former gynaecologist, she has been in exile since 1994, having lived in Sweden, the US, and India due to accusations of blasphemy in her writings. Nasrin has continued her fight for human dignity and women’s equality, stating she would not retreat. ‘Bangladesh expelled me; West Bengal, where I had lived, expelled me. I have no home. I have no country. But I believe in freedom of expression and feel women must resist religious tyranny,’ she declared.
She shared that she was born into a secular-minded Muslim family in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, where her father, a doctor, encouraged her education. ‘I grew up in a home rich with literature and music. But when I reached 12, I realized I was an atheist and questioned religious texts as I saw women oppressed through religion, culture, customs, and tradition,’ she said. ‘It is every woman’s story. We are trapped in the same cage. We didn’t call it oppression; we called it tradition,’ the author noted, emphasizing the need to unite for women’s rights.
Nasrin recounted her resistance to certain norms, stating, ‘I wrote about what I saw, where I lived, and what I believed without compromise.’ Through her writings, she protested against injustice and demanded equality, freedom, and truth, which became tools against oppression. Consequently, she faced public outcry and death threats. ‘The State did not protect me, and I have lived in exile for 31 years… I am a woman without a country,’ Nasrin concluded.