Lifestyle / Bangladeshi Author Wants To Say Goodbye To Religious Laws And Adopt A Uniform Civil Code

Bangladeshi Author Wants To Say Goodbye To Religious Laws And Adopt A Uniform Civil Code

Lifestyle Mar 19, 2016

by Nomaan Khan

This author, secular humanist, feminist, and physician is on a mission to adopt a uniform civil code based on equality. She believes it's time to say goodbye to religious laws to achieve gender parity.

Taslima Nasreen is an advocate for freedom of thought and human rights. She owes her global attention to essays and novels with feminist views and severe criticism of Islam.

Nasreen has lived in self-exile in India since coming under the wrath of fundamentalists and receiving threat calls over a novel she had written in 1994.

^{Books Written by Taslima Nasreen

Photo Credit: www.dailymail.co.uk}

The 53-year-old says archaic religious laws discriminate against both Muslim and Hindu women. She recently spoke at a panel discussion at Delhi's oldest literary and cultural festival, Penguin Spring Fever.

She said that a country formed on the basis of religion is more likely to become fundamentalist and that "religion is not compatible with democracy and human rights."

"In South Asia, countries like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan have laws based on religion. If you have laws based on religion, then women would not have equality. We should have uniform civil code based on equality because all religions are against women," she said.

^{Taslima Nasreen pours water on Shiva Lingam.

Photo Credit: Twitter}

Nasreen pointed out that Hindu women in India get the right to equal inheritance of family property on the same grounds as men of the household and that women are empowered with equal rights in marriage.

In countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh, however, Nasreen says Hindus still follow "archaic laws of the shastras and the discrimination against women continues." She also says Muslim women in India who abide by religious laws are denied equality. She alleges that these laws "discriminate against women."

The author asserts that countries need to get rid of religious laws in order to achieve gender parity.

"If you create a country on the basis of religion, that country, most likely, would become a fundamentalist country. Religion is not compatible with human rights, women's rights freedom of expression and democracy," says Nasreen.

^{Photo Credit: www.quotesgram.com}

Nasreen went on to say at a panel discussion that the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 proved that the phenomenon of "Muslim unity is a myth" and that the "two-nation theory was a wrong theory."

Twitter seems to be the platform of choice for Nasreen to showcase her anguish. She dishes out her views and also responds to her followers — whether they're fond of her or not.

What are your thoughts on Nasreen's opinions? Let us know in the comments below.

^{Main Image Photo Credit: www.outlookindia.com}

Nomaan Khan

Author

After spending some time in a completely different field, Nomaan decided to drop it all and switch to Mohawk College to pursue his longtime interest in the world of Journalism. His experience working in multimedia platforms has helped him develop exceptional skills in thinking on his feet, being ...

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Bangladeshi Author Wants To Say Goodbye To Religious Laws And Adopt A Uniform Civil Code

by Nomaan Khan

This author, secular humanist, feminist, and physician is on a mission to adopt a uniform civil code based on equality. She believes it's time to say goodbye to religious laws to achieve gender parity.

Nomaan Khan

COMMENTS

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