Taslima Nasreen, the controversial feminist writer from Bangladesh, again raised a storm when she declared: "Women should also rape men.” This remark, made in response to the execution of an Indian man in Calcutta for the rape and murder of a teenage girl, has created a furor both in Bangladesh and in India.

Nasreen, who recently had an attempt made on her life by Sheikh Hasina – former Prime Minister of Bangladesh (1996-2001) and president of the opposition party the Awami League – now lives in self-exile in Calcutta. Nasreen, who has been unwilling to get involved in an ongoing conflict between Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Zia [of the right-wing Bangladeshi National Party] and Hasina – the two female leaders of Bangladesh – refused to speak of the attempt on her life, even 15 days after the incident. Talking to close friends, however, Nasreen commented that neither Hasina nor Zia, during their terms in power, took any action against fundamentalists who attacked and threatened her life. On the contrary, they allowed her to be harassed, forcing her to leave the country.

Nasreen is also silent on the August 21st incident in Dhaka, where 20 party leaders and worker were killed when a grenade was hurled into a public meeting of the Awami League. Nasreen refused to speak to Bangladeshi newspapers about the incident, although she spoke to Indian newspapers.

Recently in a personal conversation Nasreen said, "I tried to raise awareness about the essence of fundamentalism. However, I was called obstinate and disgruntled. No one protested that. This kind of incident will continue to happen so long as political parties are blind to the danger of fundamentalism. The fundamentalists will ruin the country.”

Although she does not live in Bangladesh, Nasreen keeps close watch on the affairs of her country, by reading Bangladeshi newspapers, through the Internet and by watching the “Democracy Channel."

Intellectuals in Calcutta believe Nasreen’s remarks on rape will provoke another storm in the country. In the incident that spurred her remark, the accused, Dhananjoy, raped and killed Hethal Parekh, a school girl. Speaking on the incident, Nasreen said: "Every male contains a Dhananjoy inside him. Women should rape men just like men rape women. It would be a way to protest against men’s behavior." When asked to elaborate, Nasreen said that women can get a man to bed by alluring and seducing him. She questioned why men had to force themselves on a woman.

Intellectuals in the Bangladeshi community questioned: "How many men has Taslima met in her life? Taslima has seen that intellectuals no longer discuss her, so she has resorted to making controversial remarks to gain publicity." Nasreen was a recent guest speaker at an Amnesty International conference in New York City.