By Kulsum Mustafa for TwoCircles.net,

Lucknow: Renowned Shia cleric and vice president of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Dr Syed Kalbe Sadiq, has said that he will be pressing for a 30 per cent reservation for women in the AIMPLB at the next meeting of the Board slated for March 21 to 23, 2010 in Lucknow.

Dr Sadiq was addressing a gathering of nearly 1000 Muslim women as the chief guest at the third national convention of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) held in Uttar Pradesh capital on Sunday afternoon.

Renowned scholar and vice-president of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB),Dr Syed Kalbe Sadiq addressing a gathering of members of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andola (BMMA) in Lucknow on Sunday.[TCN photo]

AIMPLB was constituted on April 7, 1973, in Hyderabad with the aim of protecting the Indian Muslim personal laws. Today the women representatives in the Board are approximately 12 per cent.

“A hike in women representatives will ensure a better deal for Muslim women who are victims of the dictates of male-dominated society and not Islamic law,” said Dr Sadiq, a cleric known for his modern and futuristic views rather than traditional and conservative view-point generally expected from a priest and scholar of Islam. A great promoter of equal rights for Muslim women, Dr Sadiq has a penchant for education among all sections and especially among Muslim women.

“Education and character are the two things which will take any generation forward,” said Dr Sadiq, citing the example of Iran where women are working side by side with men and are equal partners in the country’s development and growth.

“Gone are the days when women were not allowed to sit in the august chair of a judge. Today in Iran 79 out of 300 judges are women,” said the cleric.

Emphasizing that Islam does not discriminate between a man and a woman and that

woman and man are two sides of a coin he said it is an equal relation that they share and there is no degree of difference between their powers.

“It is society, especially the orthodox Muslim clergy that has done you injustice by wrongly interpreting Islam, not Islam,” said Dr Sadiq.

“Aim of marriage according to him is to leave behind a better generation. He said an educated and enlightened mother will pass on knowledge to her children and they in turn will help create a strong community, leading to a country which we can be proud of.

Dr Sadiq said that generally Muslim clerics refrain from participating in functions of women but he has done so because he feels duty-bound to share with women of his community his information and experience.

Reacting sharply to the announcement of Dr Sadiq, another senior member of the Board and convener of the All India Babri Masjid Action committee, lawyer Zafaryab Jilani termed it as an “impractical suggestion and one aimed at creating mere media hype.’

“The Board has 251 members out of which 30 are women. I regret to say only 50 per cent of the women members are present for meetings. If we raise the number, absentees will be doubled. This will adversely affect the working of the Board.” Mr. Jilani told TwoCircles.net on telephone.

Charging Dr Sadiq of making such sensational, media-friendly statements Mr. Jilani said that Dr Sadiq never takes responsibility of these announcements he makes in public and denies them at Board meetings.

Urging Dr Sadiq to locate suitable women candidates whom the Board can take as members, Mr. Jilani said that finding Muslim women with the right balance of education, knowledge and respect for Islamic tenants is not easy.

He said Muslim women with an open mind on religious and social issues are always welcome to participate in Board meetings as representatives of the community.

Jilani urged Dr Sadiq to take a step forward in ensuring a better deal for Muslim women by ensuring that co-education is introduced at the Shia Degree College in Lucknow.