Taslima's homecoming

HAROON HABIB
in Dhaka

TASLIMA NASREEN made a quiet return to Bangladesh in mid-September, more than four years after she left the country at the peak of an aggressive campaign against her. Islamic fundamentalists were quick to take to the streets once again, demanding punishment for the feminist crusader who had allegedly insulted Islam through newspaper articles and other writings.

Taslima reportedly arrived in Dhaka on September 14 from New York along with her mother, who has been suffering from cancer, and her father. Immediately she went into hiding. Attempts by journalists to locate her have proved futile. Her relatives would not admit that she had come back, obviously for security reasons.

Newspapers that reported Taslima's arrival said that she wore a burkha (veil) when she passed through the immigration and customs checkpoints of Dhaka's international airport. Understandably, she did not want to catch the attention of fundamentalist groups, which have taken an anti-government line and accused the Sheikh Hasina administration of being anti-Islamic. Apparently her plan did not work. Several such organisations have blamed the Government for facilitating the return of the "murtad".

FREDERIC REGLAIN/GAMMA
Taslima Nasreen

Taslima's departure on August 10, 1994, at a time when Islamic fundamentalists demanded a death sentence passed on her on the charge of blasphemy, came about with the assistance of the embassies of some Western countries. Instead of trying her in a court, the Begum Khaleda Zia Government allowed her secret exit apparently believing that such a trial would antagonise the West, which was showing considerable interest in the issue. However, the Government sued her for her allegedly blasphemous remarks against Koran.

Taslima first went to Sweden and then to Germany. In both the countries she was extended state hospitality as she was a writer who faced a death threat. With the Western media showing an intense interest in her and support coming to her from human rights and literary groups in Europe, she shuttled between Sweden, Germany and France before going to the United States.

Before she left for Sweden, a Dhaka court had ordered her arrest and she had gone into hiding. However, she made a dramatic appearance at the High Court, and was granted bail. The criminal case lodged against her by the Government in August 1994 is still pending. The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court stayed the High Court proceedings following a petition submitted by her lawyers.

Taslima Nasreen was practically forgotten in Bangladesh during her four-year exile. She was hardly the subject of discussion except among her close friends. Her homecoming and the furore raised by the fundamentalists have, however, made her a talking point again. The District Magistrate of Dhaka has issued a warrant of arrest against the writer in a blasphemy case filed by Jainal Abedin Babul of Keranigonj, Dhaka, on June 3, 1994. It has also ordered the authorities of Motijheel thana to confiscate her moveable property. The order was given after Babul's lawyer made an appeal for the immediate arrest of Taslima on the grounds that she might leave the country again.

While the Sheikh Hasina Government has been silent about the blasphemy case filed by the previous government, the court order for Taslima's arrest and the confiscating of her property has caused fresh worries for the writer. However, it appears that the police are rather reluctant to execute the order. The section under which she has been charged is bailable.

TASLIMA'S public image has changed considerably since 1994 when a majority of Bangladesh's intellectuals stood by her. Barring a few organisations, the progressive sections of the Bangladeshi society have remained silent on the fundamentalists' fresh demand. Why have the progressive intelligentsia, who have a record of taking secular, pro-liberation positions on important issues, not openly sided with her this time? There may be several reasons, but the most important is that Taslima lost much of her appeal when she left the country and could not make a lasting impact on Bangladeshi society through her writings. Even her much-talked-about novel Lajja (Shame) and her Nirbachita Column (Selected Columns) have lost their appeal. Women, even the young and educated ones, apparently do not believe that Taslima's approach is the right way to achieve women's liberation. The majority of women's organisations have avoided her not because they fear the fundamentalists, but because they are sharply divided on questions of principle.

Several Islamic groups, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Islamic Oikya Jote, the Islamic Shashantantra Andolon and the Khilafat Andolon, held demonstrations in Dhaka and in many towns and issued press statements against her return. These groups, which are now politically close to mainstream Opposition, also warned of a vigorous movement unless she is arrested and tried for blasphemy. The Shahaba Sainik Parishad of Sylhet, the first organisation to launch the anti-Taslima agitation, has initiated a new agitational programme. The fundamentalists see her return to the country as their political defeat.

According to legal experts, there is no bar on her returning home; nor is she on the Government's list of persona non grata. Legal problems for her would arise only from the two cases that are pending.

Although the present Government has been rather soft on her, major sections of the ruling Awami League and other progressive political parties do not approve of the way she attacked Islam and tried to portray Muslims as an oppressive community. Her attack on male chauvinism is also considered one-sided. Perhaps the biggest mistake she made was that she generalised the social situation in Bangladesh where progressive sections are still active in defending freedom from fundamentalist onslaughts. Those who have been fighting religious bigotry for decades see her as too radical. Yet, they agree that Taslima's was the first voice raised against the drawbacks in religious laws.

Taslima's detractors point out that she nurtured ambitions that were disproportionate to her talent, and that she used her controversial remarks on religion to attract media attention and catapult herself into fame.

Now, if Taslima Nasreen wants to stay on in her own country, she must stand trial in the two cases, and perhaps even risk physical attacks by religious fanatics. Some newspapers have reported that she met her lawyers in order to sue certain fundamentalist leaders. Many people believe that Taslima will ultimately turn out to be a "disturbing" factor for the Government of Sheikh Hasina.

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