Fourteen women have so far won the Nobel Prize for Literature. They are:
1909: Selma Lagertof (Sweden)
1926: Grazia Deledda (Italy)
1928: Sigrid Undset (Denmark)
1938: Pearl. S. Buck (USA)
1945: Gabriela Mistral (Chile)
1966: Nelly Suchs (Germany)
1991: Nadine Gordimer (South Africa)
1993: Toni Morrison (USA)
1996: Wistawa Szymborska (Poland)
2004: Elfriede Jelinek (Austria)
2007: Doris Lessing (Iran)
2009: Herta Muller (Romania)
2013: Alice Munro (Canada)
2015: Svetlana Alexievich (Belarus)
To know more about these Nobel Laureates click here .
Photo source
In his will, Alfred Nobel stated that his entire remaining estate should be used to endow “prizes to those who, during the previous year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit to mankind.”
In light of this, my choice for the next Female Nobel Prize for Literature is Taslima Nasrin, a writer from Bangladesh.
Her novel Lajja (1993) is a protest against torture, religious extremism and terrorism by Muslim fundamentalists.
Born into a Muslim family, Taslima was banned from Bangladesh and The Council of Islamic Soldiers, an Islamic Fundamentalist group issued a fatwa against her and set a price on her head.
Taslima Nasrin has been living in exile since 1994.
At 52 she is perhaps still too young to win the Nobel Prize but in the future, if not her, I hope that The Nobel Committee will see fit to award the prize to a writer who has risked her life against the inhumane violence of terrorism.
“what may come,i’ll never be silenced”-Taslima Nasrin
For more on Taslima Nasrin visit her website and blog
Who is your choice for the next female Nobel Prize Laureate for Literature?
Carol Balawyder 
I really enjoyed and learnt through the series on Nobel Prize Laureates, dear Carol.
Thanks for sharing and best wishes to you,
Aquileana 😀
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Thanks, Aquileana. Your comment is precious to me. 🙂
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And to think I’ve only read two of them: Pearl S. Buck and Toni Morrison.
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There’s always too much to read. It’s impossible to catch up. The best thing is to get a full time job as a book reviewer. 🙂
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Now that’s a good idea! 🙂
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Carol – It’s very interesting to speculate isn’t it on who will win. I’ll be very keen to know whether Nasrin is chosen…
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I don’t think she’ll be chosen, not only is she too young but her literary repertoire is not large enough (although she did write poetry). However, it is her determination and beliefs that make her stand out.
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Taslima sounds like a wonderful contender for the Nobel Prize. Thankyou Carol for sharing about her courage and determination in life amidst her situation.
Karen
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A great end to such a powerful series. Thanks Carol!
Val x
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What a great series this was Carol. In light of the way of the world now, I would hope that perhaps Taslima will win.
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As I responded to Margot Kinberg’s comment, Taslima is still quite young and the body of her literary work might not be large enough, in spite of her published poetry. Still, I agree that in light of the world now we need courageous voices against terrorism.And Taslima is certainly one of them.
Have a super weekend, Debby.
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An interesting series. Thank you Carol for researching and bringing it to the blog for us to share in it with you.
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I’m pleased that you enjoyed the series, Rebecca. 🙂 I truly enjoyed writing it.
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So many wonderful women to highlight and thanks for your series here, Carol!
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You’re welcome, Christy. I’m glad that you enjoyed the series. 🙂
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Nooo… I really liked this series. Looking forward to the next one. Also, I never knew the history behind the Nobel Prize. Thank you 🙂
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Thanks for reading and being here…I always appreciate your presence. 🙂
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I’ve been to Taslima’s website. What a woman, good nomination.
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Terrific selection, Carol. Thanks for the introduction to this amazing author.
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Just 13? We need more for sure. Thanks for this series, Carol. I really enjoyed it! Taslima sounds like a great choice.
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Well, I don’t do taxing literature but just for entertainment, I would very much love to see a woman scoop that Prize.
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What is taxing literature?
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Literature that requires one to think like a poet, or act like one; where one has to over analyze and read two or three times before getting what the author is trying to say.
It is what is around much in Africa, there are no thrillers.
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Thanks for enlightening me. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
Carol Balawyder poses the question who would be your choice for the next female Nobel Prize Laureate. I will have to think about that carefully… there are so many brave and inspiring writers who have made a difference…
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Thank you so very much. 🙂
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