By Najiya O., TwoCircles.net,
The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) will meet AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, MP, next week demanding changes in the Women’s Reservation Bill. The BMMA is also planning to meet President Pratibha Patil on the issue.
“We are not against women’s reservation, we demand that there should be some changes in the Bill. The Bill as such will only benefit women of upper castes and classes. The system should be democratic. For that, there should be reservation within reservation. Quotas should be fixed for lower castes and classes, Muslims, fisher folk, rural people etc within the women’s reservation”, said Naish Hasan, founding member of the BMMA.
The BMMA is holding press meets in several states explaining their stand in the matter. It is also planning to meet leaders like Reetha Bahuguna Joshi, President of the All India Mahila Congress, to explain its stand as well as demands regarding the Bill. The movement is active in many states like Uttar Pradesh, Dalhi, Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, etc.
The Sachar Committee report has stated clearly the backwardness of the Muslim community. “If even the general Muslim public cannot fare well, how can one expect Muslim women to fare better?” asks Ms. Hasan.
Among the 59 women in the Parliament now, only a very few come from the backward classes. Besides all the existing divisions, Ms. Hasan says nowadays there is another new caste – the political caste. It consists of wives and other family members of politicians.
The BMMA leader also speaks about the need for a change in the reservation system. According to her, a community or group of people that gets reservation now need not remain reserved forever. There should be a method of evaluation in the system every 10 years. If those enjoying reservation are in a better condition after 10 years, the reservation should be taken away. “If Mayawati and Meira Kumar demand Dalit reservation, it should not be allowed,” she said.
She expressed her pleasure in the decision of the UPA Government to take the matter of women’s reservation seriously, planning to bring it in 100 days.
Ms. Hasan asks Muslim women to come forward. Though, she acknowledges they would have to face problems from the community, the State and the civil society if they came out to the open world.
The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan is a movement whose formation can be traced back to 2005. The founder leaders are Naish Hasan of Lucknow, Noorjahan Safia Niaz of Mumbai and Zakia of New Delhi who met at the Muslim Women’s Conference in Lucknow in that year and discussed about the condition of Muslim women in the country. “The BMMA is not an organisation, it is a movement. It is not a registered body and we are not planning to register it,” says Ms. Hasan.
The BMMA focuses on five main points – education, employment, security, law and health. The movement creates awareness among Muslim women to come forward, acquire knowledge and raise their voice. Eminent scholar Asghar Ali Engineer cooperates with them in the mission. They create awareness about the rights of women in general as well as the rights of Muslim women as said in the Qur’an, says Ms. Hasan.
Link:
http://www.bmmaonline.org