Taslima Nasreen, an award-winning writer, physician, secular humanist and human rights activist, is known for her powerful writings on women oppression and unflinching criticism of religion, despite forced exile and multiple fatwas calling for her death. In India, Bangladesh and abroad, Nasreen’s fiction, nonfiction, poetry and memoir have topped the best-seller’s list.

Taslima Nasreen was born in Bangladesh. She started writing when she was 13. Her writings won the hearts of people across the border and she landed with the prestigious literary award Ananda from India in 1992. Taslima won The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought from the European Parliament in 1994. She received the Kurt Tucholsky Award from Swedish PEN, the Simone de Beauvoir Award and Human Rights Award from Government of France, Le Prix de l' Edit de Nantes from the city of Nantes, France, Academy prize from the Royal Academy of arts, science and literature from Belgium. She is a Humanist Laureate in The International Academy for Humanism,USA. She won Distinguished Humanist Award from International Humanist and Ethical Union, Free-thought Heroine award from Freedom From Religion foundation, USA., IBKA award, Germany,and Feminist Press Award, USA . She got the UNESCO Madanjeet Singh prize for Promotion of the Tolerance and Non-violence in 2005. She received the Medal of honor of Lyon. She got honorary citizenship from Paris, Nantes, Lyon, Metz, Thionville, Esch etc. Taslima was awarded the Condorcet-Aron Prize at the “Parliament of the French Community of Belgium” in Brussels and Ananda literary award again in 2000.

Bestowed with honorary doctorates from Gent University and UCL in Belgium, and American University of Paris and Paris Diderot University in France, she has addressed gatherings in major venues of the world like the European Parliament, National Assembly of France, Universities of Sorbonne, Oxford, Harvard, Yale, etc. She got fellowships as a research scholar at Harvard and New York Universities. She was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow in the USA in 2009.

Taslima has written 40 books in Bengali, which includes poetry, essays, novels and autobiography series. Her works have been translated in thirty different languages. Some of her books are banned in Bangladesh. Because of her thoughts and ideas she has been banned, blacklisted and banished from Bengal, both from Bangladesh and West Bengal part of India. She has been prevented by the authorities from returning to her country since 1994, and to West Bengal since 2007.

Is anyone listening? » « Banning and censorship

Finally, Banned.

The drama series or mega serial are banned.
The story of three sisters who are struggling to live with dignity and honour is banned.
The truth is banned.
Lies won. Insanity won. Fatwas won. Threats won. Barbarism won.
A bunch of faith-heads, hate mongers, anti-freespeech, filthy misogynist fanatics won.
The government of West Bengal in India made them win. On the 19th of December, 2013.

Some news are here:

1. West Bengal minister says: No place for people who hurt Muslim sentiments in Bengal.

2. The story of three sisters who struggle to live with dignity and honour in Kolkata is now banned.

3.State of free speech: Taslima Nasreen-scripted TV serial Dusahobas’ telecast deferred after Muslim groups object

4.Telecast of TV serial with Taslima’s script deferred.

5. TV serial on Taslima’s writings scrapped after Muslim protests.

6. Al Jazeera says something else.

Not a single episode was broadcasted, but the government banned the TV drama series, the project that could continue for a decade.

Liberal intellectuals are silent about the banning of my serial in India. They protest when Hindu fundamentalists violate a writer’s freedom of expression. They even protest when Muslim fundamentalists attack on a writer’s free speech. But only when that writer is a male, macho, anti-feminist, Salman Rushdie.

We, the ordinary people protested on twitter against the banning of the mega serial. Many people criticized India’s vote bank politics. The politicians are accused of appeasing Muslim religious leaders in India in order to get Muslim votes. This vote bank politics is destroying the democratic principles of the world’s largest democracy.

Is anyone listening? » « Banning and censorship

Comments

Friendly says

December 21, 2013 at 4:38 am

So very sorry and disgusted about this, Taslima. Is there anything, besides blogging and writing emails and signing petitions, that people who don’t live in India can do to help reverse this decision?

Reply
Cuttlefish says

December 21, 2013 at 4:39 am

Is there any chance that the serial could/will be “leaked” and available online?

Damn, this is angering.

Reply
Ophelia Benson says

December 21, 2013 at 7:24 am

It’s infuriating, Taslima. Let us know ANYTHING we can do to push back against this.

Reply
Gunnar Gällmo says

December 21, 2013 at 5:52 pm

I just saw this: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/oppn-lashes-out-at-govt-for-scrapping-taslima-serial/1210086/

Reply
Mriganka Bhattacharyya says

December 21, 2013 at 6:00 pm

There was a hoarding advertising the TV serial here in Dumdum. Only after reading about ‘banning’ on your blogs, I noticed the hoarding was removed…..It is sad……….But I guess majority Indians are rather outraged with the fact that the Indian diplomat in the US was not allowed to enjoy her Indian right to exploit people!

Reply
- UJJAL says
  
  January 10, 2014 at 5:28 pm
  
  @ Mriganka – yes, I live in dum dum and also saw it missing and in other places also, immediately after.
  
  Reply
StevoR : Free West Papua, free Tibet, let the Chagossians return! says

December 23, 2013 at 7:27 pm

That’s awful news.

But, remember what they’ve clearly forgotten – The Streisand effect

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Streisand_effect

I think (& sure hope) banning will backfire on them.

They are afraid of you Taslima and they’ll find, I hope that this ban only reveals their cowardice and impotence in the face of your truth and courage.

Reply
- UJJAL says
  
  January 10, 2014 at 5:30 pm
  
  @ StevoR – spineless bongs are now only paper tigers 🙁
  
  Reply