Renowned Bangladeshi author, Taslima Nasrin, currently living in exile, recently reaffirmed her unwavering commitment to battling fundamentalism, extremism, and intolerance. She declared her steadfast dedication to upholding freedom, equality, and fundamental human dignity for all.
During an address in Kochi, where she received a lifetime achievement award from Litmus 2025, a prominent collective of freethinkers and atheists, Ms. Nasrin spoke passionately. She highlighted her long-standing work critiquing various religions, entrenched patriarchal traditions, and societal customs, all while ardently advocating for women’s rights.
Nasrin articulated her philosophy of critique, stating, “My criticism is directly proportional to the harm a religion inflicts.” She emphasized her resolve to challenge any religion that infringes upon human rights, oppresses women, promotes intolerance, or propagates cruelty and barbarism. “I have always stood by the oppressed, irrespective of their background. I have defended persecuted Muslims, just as I have defended Hindus facing oppression in Bangladesh or Christians in Pakistan. For me, religious identity is utterly irrelevant. Whether individuals believe or not, no one should ever face oppression for their convictions or lack thereof,” she asserted.
She firmly believes that true societal progress and civility are impossible without openly scrutinizing the dogmatic aspects of religion. “No state or society can achieve modernity without a clear separation of state and religion,” she stated. Nasrin further stressed that genuine freedom of speech and expression must encompass the right to dissent, to challenge, and even to ‘offend,’ alongside the right to praise. This crucial understanding, she noted, is often unacknowledged or rejected in many nations. Without this inherent right to challenge, she argued, true freedom of expression cannot exist, and without that freedom, democracy itself will falter.
Nasrin powerfully reiterated her daily struggle: “I have been fighting against injustice and inequality—against religious terrorism and superstition, against bigotry and obscurantism. My fight is for human rights, for women’s rights, for freedom of expression, and for humanism. I am not afraid to speak the truth.”
Reflecting on her prolonged exile, spanning over three decades, Ms. Nasrin recounted how she was forced to leave her home country simply for stating that religious scriptures are often incompatible with modern times and contexts.
With a poignant tone, she lamented her statelessness: “I have no home. I am a Bengali writer, yet I have no place in Bengal. Bangladesh expelled me, and even West Bengal subsequently cast me out, all for no fault of my own.”
Despite her physical displacement, Ms. Nasrin found solace in the ideological home she shares with rationalists, freethinkers, secularists, and humanists worldwide. Their solidarity, she explained, serves as her true shelter, and their affection, her enduring country.
The award was presented to her by T.J. Joseph, a poignant figure whose hand was brutally severed by extremists, underscoring the very intolerance Nasrin bravely combats.