KENILWORTH, 28 DECEMBER 2005 — The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) is pleased to announce that the author, feminist, physician, human rights activist and humanist Taslima Nasrin has demonstrated her support for the group by joining its panel of vice-presidents.
Like her fellow author Salman Rushdie, Ms Nasrin fell foul of Islamic extremists. After the publication of her novel Lajja (Shame) in 1993, she received death threats and was forced to flee her native Bangladesh. Since then she has lived in exile in Sweden but travelled extensively giving lectures in many different countries and taking part in demonstrations.
Among the awards she has received are the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought from the European Parliament, the Human Rights Award from the French Government, the UNESCO Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence, and the Distinguished Humanist Award from the International Humanist and Ethical Union.
GALHA members were delighted when she showed her support for lesbian and gay rights by attending a dinner which the group arranged at the Congress of the International Humanist and Ethical Union held in the Netherlands in 1996.
GALHA’s secretary, George Broadhead, said: “We are very grateful to have the endorsement of this brave internationally recognised human rights campaigner and it is a great boost to our morale.”
More information about Taslima Nasrin can be found on her website.