New Delhi, May 13: At a time when there is a clamour to include a sub-quota for the community in the Women’s Reservation Bill, leading Muslim organisations have refused to acknowledge the Deoband fatwa that has decreed that it was “unlawful” for women to work as it involved interaction with men.
Muslim leaders have said that Deoband fatwas are generally issued in response to a particular question and, therefore, should be seen only in that context. The fatwa by the Islamic seminary came in the first week of April but is publicised only now.
The leaders also rejected the possibility that the fatwa would prove to be counter-productive to the demands for sub-quota for Muslim women in the Women’s Bill.
“How will a mufti (cleric) understand our needs? Muslims should get quota in the Women’s Reservation Bill as it is a genuine need of the community. How can a mufti decide on such matters? Such fatwas cannot be applied generally. One has to read between the lines,” Maulana Abdul Hameed Nomani of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind told.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind secretary Mujtaba Farooq pointed out that Islam does not permit generalisation of fatwas. Some Muslim leaders also recalled a fatwa, issued by a Deoband mufti some years ago, barring Muslim women from contesting panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh which had gone largely ignored.
“The campaign for a sub-quota for the community in the Women’s Bill will continue. That has nothing to do with this fatwa,” Farooq said.
Apart from Jamiat and Jamaat-e-Islami, prominent Islamic outfits like the All India Milli Council, Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadees Hind and the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat have sought changes in the Women’s Bill.
Mushawarat’s Zafarul Islam Khan said there was nothing wrong in Muslim women going to work. “They can do all kinds of work that is physically possible for them. Of course, doing late night jobs like the ones in BPOs should be avoided. There is a certain limit,” he said and pointed out that Muslim women work freely in countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran where Sharia is in practice.
-Agencies