Governmental defense of any theology necessarily weakens the legitimacy of both the government and the theology.

When Bangladesh refused to renew my passport, I used U.N. travel documents. You can't disown your country.

Those religions that are oppressive to women are also against democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression.

I have been writing poetry since 1975. My first poetry book was published in 1986.

It is unfair to label me anti-Islam. I am an atheist and a secular humanist.

I have lectured at the U.N. and travelled widely, giving lectures on human rights and gender inequalities in universities. But this is a life I do not wish to live. I don't want to be a showcase, I want to be in a battlefield where I can stand beside the oppressed and the poor.

There is no such thing as a 'superior' or 'inferior' culture, there are only various cultural patterns which make up this beautiful, multicolored mosaic.