ART: Poetic transgression

Kathryn Aegis (aegis@igc.apc.org)
Tue, 7 Jul 1998 08:08:57 -0700 (PDT)

If you can access the Washington Post online, there is an excellent article in today's Style section on the Bengali poet Taslima Nasrin, who is presently under _fatwa_ (an offer of large monetary reward to whoever can find her and put her to death). The charge--blasphemy. The cause--her poetry promotes feminist and secular ideas and has become a sensation among young women in Bangladesh. She has taken a stand against religion, fanaticism, and oppression of females.

After escaping to Sweden for a while, she traveled through Europe (heavily guarded) and presently is in New York for a few months to see if she could live here.

I found her story a good reminder of just how revolutionary some of our most basic ideas are in some parts of the world.

Kathryn Aegis