(NL Times) Dutch-Turkish writer Lale Gül, 24, won the Pim Fortuyn Prize on Friday at a symposium in Rotterdam on the 20th anniversary of the politician’s murder. The same day, several protesters were arrested for interrupting a commemoration of Fortuyn’s assassination, also in Rotterdam.
Politician Pim Fortuyn was murdered on May 6, 2002, at the Media Park in Hilversum. Every year, a prize in his honor is awarded to opinion makers, administrators or politicians who, according to the organization, fight for free speech, break through taboos or take a stand in social debate.
Gül, whose debut novel “Ik Ga Leven” draws on her experience of oppression from growing up in a strict Muslim family, was this year’s sole nominee. “Lale is a fearless intellectual,” the jury said. “She describes important themes such as freedom of choice for women and the disadvantage compared to men from her own experience and she does not shy away from the sometimes painful reality.”
