Exiled author Taslima Nasreen criticises Sheikh Hasina

Taslima Nasreen accused Hasina of pandering to Islamists. She claimed that the same Islamists who forced her exile were now part of the student-led agitation that drove Hasina out of Bangladesh.

Aug 6, 2024 - 14:18
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Exiled author Taslima Nasreen criticises Sheikh Hasina

Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen pointed to the ironic twist in Sheikh Hasina’s resignation as Bangladesh Prime Minister and flight from the country after weeks of violent anti-government protests.

An outspoken critic of religious fundamentalism, Nasreen accused Hasina of pandering to Islamists. She claimed that the same Islamists who forced her exile were now part of the student-led agitation that drove Hasina out of Bangladesh.

In a post on X, Nasreen said, “Hasina in order to please Islamists threw me out of my country in 1999 after I entered Bangladesh to see my mother in her deathbed and never allowed me to enter the country again. The same Islamists have been in the student movement who forced Hasina to leave the country today.”

Nasreen was forced to leave Bangladesh in 1994 due to death threats from fundamentalist groups over her best-selling book ‘Lajja’, which was banned in the country. She has been living in exile since then.

Hasina's resignation and escape from Bangladesh came amid violent student-led protests that have killed over 300 people. The protests began as a response to quotas reserving government jobs for families of veterans of the country's 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. The protests escalated into a campaign demanding Hasina's overthrow, which was met with a violent crackdown.

Nasreen blamed Hasina for the situation, alleging that she allowed Islamist groups to flourish and turned a blind eye to corruption, which ultimately led to her downfall.

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