I feel like I have been there, have seen cloudy blue sky, spooky rocky hills, dry red soil when I was travelling in Iceland, Irish peninsula, China or Egypt.
Taslima Nasreen
No Country for Women - Humanism, Secularism, Feminism
I feel like I have been there, have seen cloudy blue sky, spooky rocky hills, dry red soil when I was travelling in Iceland, Irish peninsula, China or Egypt.
A company has made anti-rape underwear for women.
What about making don’t-rape underwear for men and make the wearing of that underwear compulsory?
It won’t work, right?
The responsibility to not be raped is not on the woman. The responsibility to not rape is on the man.
If people still do not understand it, the companies will continue making all kinds of anti-rape spooky thingies.
But we all know that these thingies won’t stop rape.
If nothing works, then women would be advised to literally lock their vagina. Believe it or not, it happened. A man kept his wife’s vagina under lock and key for years!
Do you guys prefer to go out wearing armour everyday for not being murdered? Or you want to get a safe place where nobody would murder anyone!
All the religious fanatics who issued fatwas against me, and set prices on my head or attacked me physically or tried to kill me for expressing my opinions were honored by the politicians in Bangladesh and India.
Bangladesh:
The picture above is from a press conference held in 1993 by Islamic fundamentalists for the banning of my all books, for my arrest and for my execution by hanging. Shaikhul Hadith and Habibur Rahman, sitting in the middle, issued a fatwa against me, set price on my head and called for demonstrations, processions, general strikes, hartal all over the country in order to force the government to hang me till death. They demanded my execution because they were against women’s rights, freedom of expression and plurality of thoughts.
Habibur Rahman who had declared a Tk 50,000 reward for my head in 1993, wants Taliban rule in Bangladesh. He said, “If alems and ulamas can run Afghanistan then Bangladeshi alems would be able to run the country with Allah’s help.”
Here is the amnesty report how Muslim fundamentalists issued a fatwa against me. See page 13-16.
Sheikh Hasina, the chairperson of Awami league, one of the biggest political parties in Bangladesh, chose fatwabaaz Taliban Habibur Rahman as a nominee of the 2007 general elections.
Both Habibur Rahman and Shaikhul Hadith have been respected by almost all the big politicians in Bangladesh.
Awami League leader Abdul Jalil came to religious fanatic Shaikhul Hadith to offer him nomination.
Sheikh Hasina has been admiring Shaikhul Hadith since her childhood.
When he died, she expressed deep shock at the death of Shaikhul Hadith. In her condolence message, the Prime Minister recalled contribution of Shaikhul Hadith to the society. She prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed sympathy to the bereaved family members.
India:
Fatwabaaz 1. Imam Barkati.
Imam Barkati issued a fatwa against me in 2004. He set price on my head, Rs 20,000.
Imam Barkati issued another fatwa against me in 2006.
He set price on my head, Rs 50,000.
Imam Barkati issued a fatwa again in 2007, the price that was set for my head was unlimited amount of money. Watch the video. They were issuing fatwa in the middle of Kolkata. Many police officers were there, but they did not arrest any fatwabaaz for announcing cash reward for the people who would kill a writer.
After issuing fatwas, Imam Barkati has been rewarded by the politicians. West Bengal’s current chief minister Mamata Banerjee invited him on the stage and honored him many times. She know very well that Imam Barkati asked people to kill a writer for having different opinions.
Idris Ali, another Muslim troublemaker who committed crimes in November 21, 2007, got the blessing of West Bengal’s chief minister. He was given clean chit.
Fatwabaaz 2. Taukeer Raza Khan.
News in 2007.
a.
“Taslima should be killed & beheaded and anyone who does this will get a reward from the council”— Tauqeer Raza Khan.March,2007
b. Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh on Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen’s head if New Delhi does not restrict her entry into the country.
c. The creator of the Rs 5 lakh reward offer on her head, president of All India Ibtehad Council, Tauqeer Raza Khan, however, insisted he had community support.
d. Fatwa against Taslima. A public interest litigation petition filed by a local lawyer seeking action against Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan, president of the All India Muslim Personal Board.
News in 2013.
e. Cleric who issued fatwa against Taslima Nasreen may campaign for Arvind Kejriwal.
f.Taslima slams Kejriwal for feelers to maulana behind beheading fatwa.
After Kejriwal, another politician praised the fatwabaaz.
Why do politicians ask for support from anti-women anti-free speech Muslim fanatics who illegally set price on people’s heads? They should go to ordinary Muslims if they need their votes. They should not bow down to Muslim fanatics who are responsible for Muslim community’s backwardness. Since independence, politicians in the Indian subcontinent have been seeking help of religious fanatics who do not respect human rights, free speech and the Constitution. People should speak up against fanatics who vitiate society, push it backward and the politicians who encourage them. Else, it’s bad news for democracy.
There are hundreds of patriarchal festivals in India. People are celebrating Bhai Phonta or Bhai Dooj or Bhai Tika or Bhai Beej today. On this day, sisters put a sandalwood paste or a vermilion mark on the forehead of their brothers and pray for their brothers to have long and happy lives, safety and success. There is no Bon Phonta or Bahen Dooj for sisters.
I changed the system when I lived in Kolkata, West Bengal, in 2004-2007. I made my fans and friends to celebrate Bon Phonta. We girls and women were given Phontas, and gifts by men,. Men wished for our well being, happy long life, our safety and success.
Here are some of those pictures:
Bon Phonta was completely a secular celebration. No man prayed to any God. They wished us long life and good health.
I was thrown out of Kolkata in 2007. But Bon Phonta has still been celebrated every year in the city by a small group of people. Bon Phonta is a protest against patriarchal Bhai Phonta. If Bhai Phonta is not celebrated, Bon Phonta will not be celebrated. Men and women will wish each other good health and long life without any Phonta. But if Bhai Phonta is celebrated, Bon Phonta must be celebrated on the same day by the same people.
People should stop following patriarchal tradition. They should question it. And make the age-old tradition go. They should make cultures evolve. It gets filthy if it does not flow. Women have been treated as inferior beings in patriarchal societies, nobody has been concerned so far about women’s long life and good health, not even in the 21st century. My effort to celebrate Bon Phonta will not change the society today. But some people will learn how to question and how to say NO, and how to show the middle finger to misogyny.
The University of Calicut invites nominations for the Golden Mother Award, 2013.
They claim,
The objective of the programme is to highlight the contribution of mothers to societal development and nation building and to provide exemplary models to the youngsters.
The university is glorifying motherhood.
The University of Calicut is honoring with prizes, women who have secured superior achievements in diverse walks of life and have, alongside, fulfilled the responsibilities of motherhood in an exemplary fashion. Those who have made strides in areas such as social work, politics, government, sports, agriculture, industrial entrepreneurship, engineering, medicine, literature, art, research, law, police, banking, teaching at different levels will be considered for the Golden Mother Award. Individuals may nominate themselves or be nominated by others. The application form is available on the University website (www.universityofcalicut.info)
Details of achievements in different sectors, challenges faced, and awards won must provided. The Vice Chancellor Dr M. Abdulsalam said that the institution of the Golden Mother Award was rooted in the fact that a virtuous society can be created only through virtuous mothers. Applications may be sent to The Director,Centre for Women’s Studies, Calicut University PO 673635, before 15 November. (relevant phone numbers) PR2212/13.
Universities are supposed to enlighten students, but by creating golden mother award, it seems one of the universities is dragging its students towards the dark ages.
They must stop glorifying motherhood. Educated, independent and intelligent women might not like to marry and have kids. Let women take total control of their own bodies. Let women decide what they want to do with their wombs. It does not need a brain to be a mother. It just needs sexual intercourse. Patriarchal society is making women’s life hell by forcing them to marry and be submissive, to be a child bearing machine, a sex object and a slave of men.
Mothering is a misogynistic term, it should be ‘parenting’. By giving importance to mothering, you ignore the roles of fathers. Parenting makes easier for a working mother and father to balance work and family. It needs a partnership that rejects traditional patriarchal models of motherhood. When the world is talking about planned parenthood, Calicut university is stuck with motherhood.
It’s not a university’s responsibility to encourage women to become mothers. University should encourage women to become dignified personalities, independent and respected human beings. It is totally women’s personal matter whether they want to reproduce. Like a conservative patriarchal guardian Calicut university crossed the university boundary and entered women’s private bedrooms. It is alarming.
ISRO. Indian space research organization. They have a facebook page for their next Mars Orbiter Mission. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25) rocket carrying the Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft will blast off on November 5.
I am so proud of India for having this mission but I get shocked when I learn that the ISRO chairman Dr. K. Radhakrishnan has been offering prayers at the temples before the launch. I also learned that people at the space center would perform coconut breaking and other religious rituals just before the launch. Believe it or not, ‘traditions and beliefs trump science and technology in India, even when it concerns launching a rocket into space.’
Isro chairman prayed for smooth satellite launch at the famous hill temple of Lord Venkateswara. He also prayed for the launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C21) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
Science is against religion and superstitions. Religion and superstitions are against science. There is no doubt about it. But I do not know how it is possible for people like Dr. K. Radhakrishnan to believe in religion, superstitions and science at the same time.
A girl was raped and buried alive in Pakistan.
Siddique Mughal, a resident of a village in Toba Tek Singh district, located 225 km from Lahore, told police that his 13-year-old daughter was abducted by two unidentified men while she was going to a seminary for Quran lessons. The men took the girl to a deserted place and raped her. They believed she had died during the assault and buried her by the roadside, Mughal said.
However, the girl regained consciousness and dug her way out of the mud covering her. She raised an alarm and caught the attention of a passerby , who took her to a nearby rural health centre.
As police were not cooperating with the girl’s family, the Lahore HC chief justice’s complaint cell took notice of the incident on Saturday and directed the district and sessions judge of Toba Tek Singh to probe the matter.
The sessions judge subsequently directed police to arrest the rapists, complete their investigation.
I feel like I am buried alive and I am suffocating inside my grave, I am screaming and calling people out but nobody is listening to me! I feel like I am dying but no one is trying to save me.
I respect men who protest against sexism, patriarchy, misogyny. Women’s oppression would never go away until men stop oppressing women.
This Saudi man is not a great singer, his song is not a great song, but his protest is great. Let’s listen to his song.