By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: Muslim women are excluded from the mainstream of the society but it is also a fact that they are excluded from the mainstream of the Muslim society as well, said scholar and writer Asghar Ali Engineer at a seminar on Muslim Women: Issues of Exclusion held today at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi.
“When we demand reservation for Muslim community do we also think about any specific quota within Muslim quota for Muslim women?” asked Asghar Ali and stressed that the community should think about giving a portion of quota to Muslim women also. When we talk about injustice to the community and its exclusion from national mainstream, we should also talk about exclusion of Muslim women within the community, he said.
Speaking at the program, organized by Dr. K.R. Narayanan Centre for Dalit & Minorities Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia in collaboration with Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Aadolan, former Member of Parliament and rights activist Ms. Subhashini Ali pitched for reservation for all backward sections of the society irrespective of religion. She stressed on gender equality and rights of women within the Muslim community. She further said that security of women should be the responsibility of state not community.
Others who spoke included Shabnam Hashmi, Farha Naqvi, and Yusuf Saeed.