The session titled, “Bangla sahitya: nari o purush (Bengali literature: Women and Men)” was held on the 3rd day of Dhaka Lit Fest. The panelists discussed the history and struggles of women’s writing in Bangladesh.
The panel consisted of Salma Bani, Shahnaz Munni, Audity Falguni and Sadeka Halim with poet Shamim Reza moderating the session.
Writer and translator Audity Falguni reminded us of the struggle that Taslima Nasrin went through. “Female writers are often cropped out of the literary landscape,” she said.
Journalist and poet Shahnaz Munni talked about the existential battles women authors face every day. In reply to the question, “Why women writers lag behind?” she replied that society still couldn’t think of women as writers. “Is there any syndicate made up of male writers?” She asked, triggering notable reactions among her fellow panelists and the audience.
Novelist Salma Bani claimed that “male writers around the world do not make strong and courageous female characters.” She was of the opinion that since society wasn’t willing to give credit to women's contribution in shaping civilization their representation in literary works was slim as well.
Academic Sadeka Halim, said, “Women’s position in literature is a result of the politics played by the capitalist society.”
The panel also took part in discussing the current #metoo movement and ended with a lively Q/A session.