Banu Mushtaq sounds more ebullient than she probably was when her ‘Heart Lamp: Selected Stories’ bagged the International Booker Prize last year. A writer who has been vocal against patriarchal ideas, particularly on the rights of Muslim women, she sees a new lustre ahead, brought about by times that allow expression far more than before.
According to her, signs of repression are now more evident in her community precisely because strong voices are speaking up and being heard.
Despite facing threats for speaking her mind, Banu holds her head high and does not mince words, calling a spade a spade.
In Thiruvananthapuram for the Kerala Legislature International Book Festival, she spares time for a quick chat with TNIE. Excerpts:
Your book (Heart Lamp) is being referred to in discussions about the film ‘Haq’, which is based on the Shah Bano case. What are your views?
The case may be different in its storyline, but the issue is quite the same as in my book. Voices of resilience and the quest for justice stand out in both my book and Shah Bano’s life.
Her struggle was at a time when there was less visibility than now. And that struggle was not in vain. Now, women from the community are more vocal about their rights. Also, the Supreme Court has referred to that landmark case, which has been monumental in the history of women’s rights in India. My work captures that spirit and reflects it in the several life situations I have narrated.
How do you view the acceptance of ‘Heart Lamp’?
The response has been heartening. Many have expressed the hope that there is room for speaking out and that there are people who will hear you, even though repressive ideologies are more evidently out in the open than before.
Despite being someone who has stood against patriarchy, you supported the hijab movement in Karnataka. There have also been such controversies around the hijab in Kerala….
It was not ‘support’ exactly. I urged the Muslim girls to wear hijab and go to school and college, rather than drop out because they cannot wear them to the educational institutions. The girls may be from conformist families.
There are many who are good at academics and I do not want them to stop studying just because of issues over hijab. I told them to wear the hijab, go to school or college and keep it in their lockers, and then go to their classes. Hijab shouldn’t stop them from pursuing their dreams of an independent life.
Islamic tenets are being portrayed as anti-feminist. Do you agree with this?
I am doubtful about the way Islam has been interpreted — entirely from a male perspective. I challenge those interpretations, which probably came about 100 years after the death of the Prophet.
I strongly feel the core ideology had enough rights and room for all, but it was manipulated or distorted by patriarchy. This may also be true in the case of religions in general. Hence, I would like to get the veracity of the interpretation, now being aired as the sacrosanct codes, tested.
Girish Kasaravalli had made a National Award-winning film [‘Hasina’, 2004] based on one of your earlier works, ‘Kari Nagaragalu (Black Cobra)’. Any such discussions over ‘Heart Lamp’?
The work has been taken up by theatre groups across Karnataka. As for films, one director did approach me. I need to be confident that the visual translation of the work will carry no misrepresentation.
There is a lot of difference between sensitising and creating a sensation. It is important to sensitise, but sensationalising is unwarranted. Hence, I would choose carefully. As of now, I am working on my autobiography.