I was well acquainted with the Calcutta literary circle since I was 17, when I lived in Bangladesh and published and edited a little magazine called 'Sejuti,' for which young poets from both Bengals wrote. If you look at my life, there is no question of using anyone for anything. I have only got banned, blacklisted and banished.
All I ever want is to return to either Bangladesh, my motherland, or India, my adopted home.
Those religions that are oppressive to women are also against democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression.
I was born in a middle class Muslim family, in a small town called Myonenningh in a northern part of Bangladesh in 1962. My father is a qualified physician; my mother is a housewife. I have two elder brothers and one younger sister. All of them received a liberal education in schools and colleges.
The focus of my research is how secular movements originated in West Asian countries and subsequently changed to pan-Islamic movements. The role of Western countries in this aspect is also a part of the research.
Religious fundamentalists in Bangladesh have always argued for a ban on my books.
Governmental defense of any theology necessarily weakens the legitimacy of both the government and the theology.
I want to live in Kolkata; I don't want to live in Europe - I can't write there. I write in Bengali, and I need to be surrounded by the Bengali language and culture.
When Bangladesh refused to renew my passport, I used U.N. travel documents. You can't disown your country.
I studied in a medical college and qualified myself as a medical graduate.
Sheikh Hasina's government is one of the best Bangladesh has ever had. She is taking action against fundamentalists. But even she refused to let me return. I don't think I can ever return home.
Among all the 'awards' that I have hitherto collected, I consider the title of 'patita' or 'fallen woman' to be the highest. This is an achievement of my long-struggling life as a writer and as a woman.
I’m an atheist, and I believe religion is totally against human rights and women’s rights.
I have been writing poetry since 1975. My first poetry book was published in 1986.
