Taslima Nasreen is in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU: Bangladeshi writer and activist Taslima Nasreen, who has been living in exile, is in Kathmandu for a South Asian event.

The former medical  doctor, who has survived multiple fatwas calling for her death, had touched down in the Nepali capital on Sunday.

She was invited by the South Asian Women Development Forum for a talk programme, in which prominent personalities from South Asian countries and China are taking part. The event is scheduled for 3 pm today at Hotel Annapurna.

The 55-year-old writer has been living her life in exile since 1994, a year after the publication of her most popular and controversial work Lajja.

She has been provided with high security since her arrival.

Nasreen is widely praised as well as criticised for her "powerful writings on women oppression and unflinching criticism of religion", according to her personal website.

Nasreen says all religions are against women's rights and she is perhaps the most vocal against Islam.

Nasreen, who was scheduled to take part in a literature festival in Kathmandu in August 2011, was forced to cancel her visit due to security concerns.

"My Nepali friends, I missed my flight to go to Kathmandu today. I forgot to bring my passport as I did not consider Nepal a foreign country.” This tweet invited a controversy.

She then announced that she cancelled her visit, writing, "I am sad, but I had to cancel the flight as I did not want any unpleasant incident to happen in Nepal."

Because of her thoughts and ideas, she has been banned, blacklisted and banished from Bengal, both from Bangladesh and West Bengal part of India.

She has been prevented by the authorities from returning to her country since 1994, and to West Bengal since 2007.

Since 1994, she has been shifting to various nations including Sweden, Germany, the United States and India.