Salman Rushdie did not stay in Iran, the country that declared a price on his head. I have lived in Bangladesh and India, two countries where price on my head has been set repeatedly. It is these two countries where I have faced death threats, been physically attacked, had processions taken out against me, had my books banned and my TV serials taken off air. If Rushdie is not safe under police protection in the Western world, there’s little left to be imagined about my personal safety. But I am not in favour of trading for a safe and placid life in fear of diatribe and personal security. I choose to express my views in spite of the threat to my life, even if none subscribe to my views. I stand for my views against religious brutality, for humanism, rationalism, and equal rights for women.