Taslima Nasreen
Summary
This story / essay is based on Taslima Nasreen’s encounter with a male foreigner guest and talks about Bangladesh. When the foreigner commented that the women of Bangladesh are very lucky and they have got equality, freedom and justice because both the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader are women; subject of talk in her writing-up (f). Then, Taslima gives a ling comment on it that the women in Bangladesh are living in extreme oppression (a, b).
Taslima says that the women representativeness has no avail (advantage) for the women. These two women are in power because of the credit of their father and husband; not because of their own merits. Taslima respects them although they climbed up through their father and husband’s ladder because they are women. But being women, they have done nothing for the libration of women; they have brought no changes even if being in power (d). And Taslima says she is not talking about developments, but about women who are living in ignorance, speechlessness, blindness, undernourishment, and tiredness.
Taslima is addressing these powerful women in the country that they covered their heads with sari when they come in power. Only women have veil, although religion tells to have it in both male and female’s head. Males are free and do not use topee, and there is always pressure to women to follow such religious rules (g). The university girls, the wives of senior officials don’t follow these rules (g) but these powerful Prime Minister and the opposition leader cover their heads because their colleague tells them to do it to win the election. Taslima calls it ‘deception’ to the women world (h), because women live in the boundary of restriction, forbids, bans, and all women have dissatisfaction, live in repression but these great women personalities do not have. Women are being murdered, raped, disfigured by acid, sold and bought in the price of vegetables “(i), but no one is ever caught to punish because of loopholes for males. Women are insecure in dark streets from the lusty males, women are made as commodities (e) and they must see it, feel it.
Taslima begs these two powerful women to rehabilitate the girls living in the brothels and who does it if they did not do it ? Males have used these great two women to compensate their father and husband’s death. Only they can solve the problems of women; trafficking, child marriage, rapes, polygamy, kidnapping and only women can have determination to solve these problems but these two great women cannot solve it because they are only male’s representatives, and they have pressure of male colleagues, religion, foreign aid, and imperialism. They just try to hold power changing nothing because they have no thoughts of their own, on feelings and no conscience (c).
