India: Bangladeshi author says it is the duty of the State to ensure education and economic support to women, which are key factors for their empowerment

Bangaldeshi author Taslima Nasrin has said the world should unite to protect the rights of women, who should be treated on a par with their male counterparts.

In an interaction with The Hindu at the DC School of Architecture, near Wagamon, Nasrin says she is not against the Muslim community but opposed to certain customs and rules within the community that prevent the educational and economic growth of women.

The author, who faces a threat to life from fundamentalists, says she is against triple talaq as it adversely affects the lives of poor women, reports The Hindu.

As a practising doctor in Bangladesh, she had seen women living in miserable conditions after triple talaq, with no economic or social support.

‘If a woman can be simply divorced by triple talaq, why should a man not be divorced in the same way?’

The author, who wrote extensively against triple talaq and is in favour of a uniform civil code, says in a democracy there should not be different rules based on communities.

The State should enforce equal rights for all women without considering their community. ‘It can only be realised by giving education and economic support to the suppressed women,’ she says adding that society and the State should have a responsibility in this regard. Customs and rules that hinder women’s empowerment should be removed.

India has a rich heritage in its diverse culture that allows different communities to live together. Then why should there be a separate rule for a particular community? The State is united in different languages, topography and different lifestyles.

Nasrin says she not only speaks for the rights of Muslim women but also those who are suppressed and rendered voiceless by certain customs and rules that are unethical.

She had raised her voice for Hindu women when they were suppressed as a minority community in Bangladesh. Similarly, when Christian and Hindu women are suppressed in Arab countries.

To achieve equality in a democracy, women should have equal rights for divorce. Equality can be attained only through financial independence and education to women.

She says that in the majority of Islamic countries, the Sharia laws are modified and what she advocates is one rule for all in a state. Justice can only be given through equality and it points to the importance of a uniform civil code.

She welcomes changes in this country that aim at equality and uplift of suppressed women. She could not fathom why some people argue that Islamic rules are untouchable. Irrational and blind faith should be questioned by a secularist and rational mind. It is humanism and not barbarism that makes the growth of society.

‘If you do not want any criticism, you do not want any progress,’ she says adding that she always stands against violence anywhere in the world. Myanmar should take back the Rohingya Muslims.

They should be allowed a peaceful stay and given the rights they deserve. Violence against a community should not be justified and the rights of all should be protected under the state law.

Padmaavat

Nasrin says she has seen Padmaavat and does not notice even a mild action or words that denigrate the Rajputs. It is funny that a controversy is being created over an issue that did not happen.

Why the Karni Sena portrays the film as against denigrating some could not be understood. Had there been any words or deed that denigrate someone, there would have been meaning in the protest.

The protest is all based on a non-issue, she says wondering if it has been a marketing strategy to promote the film in the box office?

According to her, she has always liked to live in Kolkata which she considers her home city.