Comedian and public debater Shabana Rehman fell asleep peacefully on Thursday morning. This is reported by his brother Shakeel Rehman in a post on Facebook.
– It is with bottomless sadness that I have to announce that our much-loved irreplaceable sister, daughter, aunt, friend, centrepiece, mood spreader and pride passed away peacefully this morning, the brother begins the post with.
Rehman was admitted to Akershus University Hospital over Christmas, with the whole family and boyfriend Petter Simonsen around him until the end.
According to Shakeel Rehman, Shabana Rehman was hospitalized for the last eight days before she left today.
– She has fought hard and never given up hope. She wanted to live on for her family, her love and for the country that she loved so immensely, he writes further.
Alternative treatment
Rehman was told in January 2022 that she had pancreatic cancer.
It was while “Farmen kendis”, in which Rehman herself participated, was on TV that she ended up in the emergency room with what she thought was dysentery or a stomach ulcer. However, this turned out to be something far more serious – pancreatic cancer with spread.
After receiving the cancer diagnosis, the 46-year-old was admitted to Akershus University Hospital for treatment, but after a few months she received the discouraging message that she could only continue to receive pain-relieving treatment in this country.
The comedian therefore traveled to Germany for immunotherapy, which she was able to carry out thanks to a splice.
Combined forces to receive award
After several rounds of immunotherapy in Germany, Rehman visited “Lindmo” in October. Then she said that the treatment had apparently produced good results. However, she did not hide that everything could change very quickly.
The month after the “Lindmo” visit, a proud Shabana Rehman received Norsk PEN’s Ossietzky Prize for her work for freedom of expression. She was honest with Nettavisen that it cost her a lot of effort to participate in the awards.
– This is a day not only that I thought might not happen. But it has happened, so it is clear that it is very nice. I have rested a lot and saved my energy for this. It is clear that everything in such an illness phase is a measure, but you also have to measure it by what it gives you, was one of the things Rehman said at the time.
Updated his followers
Ever since the cancer diagnosis became known, Rehman has shared updates on his health with his followers – both through social media and in comments at Nettavisen.
In June, she shared the first comment, in which she spoke candidly about the day she was diagnosed with cancer.
“I was alone in the emergency room then, and had to spend a day trying to understand what this meant, before I was able to do something I had to do with great sadness: I had to share the information with my beloved family”the 46-year-old wrote from the hospital bed in Germany then.
Since then, she has both told about her stay in Germany and shared honestly what it has been like to be a cancer patient in Norway.
– Left clear traces behind
Rehman had a long and varied career.
In 1996, Rehman started as a columnist in VG, and later as a columnist in Dagbladet from 2000 to 2007. In recent years, as mentioned, Rehman wrote several comments for Nettavisen.
Also read: Shabana Rehman: A cow shows the way out of violation hysteria and culture war
“Thus she became one of the very first of the new generation of young people with an immigrant background who broke through the sound barrier in the Norwegian public”, writes political editor in Nettavisen, Erik Stephansen, in an obituary.
Rehman was not only a skilled writer, she also distinguished herself in the standup community. She debuted as a stand-up comedian in 1999. Her show from 2002 “Shabana goes skiing over Grønland” was well received, including from NRK and VG. With a good dose of self-irony, she made fun of most of the cultural and religious differences in the country.
Rehman also liked to provoke.
She received a lot of attention, both nationally and internationally, when she lifted Mullah Krekar (66) up on 27 April 2004.
– This is contempt for people and it is contempt for me. This was an assault on me. You don’t have a right to touch me just like I don’t have a right to touch you, Krekar told Rehman after the famous promise, while Rehman remained silent.
Rehman was reported by Krekar for physical abuse, but barely a week after the incident, the case was dismissed.
– If a small woman like me can lift him, he cannot be dangerous, Rehman told the New York Times at the time.
However, the performance was not the only thing Rehman made headlines for.
The following year, she felt the consequences strongly when 15 shots were fired with automatic weapons at the family restaurant Rehmans in Grünerløkka. The motivation behind it is said to have been a reaction to her recent “butt stunt” during the film festival in Haugesund that year.
Here she rocked on stage with the then Minister of Culture Valgerd Svarstad Haugland (KrF), in addition to showing her bum to the festival audience.
Despite criticism and threats, the comedian and public debater stood his ground.
“One of the largest trees in the Norwegian forest has fallen. The consolation is that Shabana Rehman has left clear traces behind her,” writes Stephansen in the obituary about Shabana Rehman.
Shabana Rehman found happiness with Petter Simonsen in autumn 2021. He was by Rehman’s side until the end.
Rehman has previously been married to comedian and copywriter Dagfinn Nordbø (65), they were married from 2003 to 2007. She has also been married to NRK journalist Martin Gaarder (45). In August 2021, the news came that the couple went their separate ways after 14 years.
