----- Women's All Rights Should Be Ensured
In observance of International Women Day ,the speakers in a seminar said that the Muslim scholars of the contemporary world have a positive view of women's rights and adherence to the tenets of Islam would help establish those, news papers have reported .The seminar was organized on Friday by two organizations ,the Witness and the Assembly for Protection of Hijab, Bangladesh to mark the International Women's Day at the Jatiya Press Club. The speakers said that as a very progressive religion Islam liberated the humanity from various forms of oppression, and this included the liberation of women.Dr Syeda Sultana Razia, presented a paper on 'Freedom of Women in the 21st century' at the seminar presided over by Dr Meera Momtaz Sabeka. Former secretary to the government Hannah Abdul Shah, former DG, Bangladesh Shishu Academy Zubaida Gulshan Ara, editor of the New Nation, Mostafa Kamal Majumder were special guests at the function. Shahnaj Hamid, Mahbuba Rahman Ph.D., Sardar Farid Ahmed ,secretary of Dhaka Union of Journalists and Kaniz Fatima, faculty of Darul Ihsan University took part in the discussion. In her paper Syeda Sultana Razia drew a historical background to the movement for women's rights and said that the economically weak people mostly run the risk of being deprived of their rights. This applied more to women who are considered weak physically and mentally. The worldwide movement for empowerment of women thus basically called for making women economically self-reliant so that they acquire the ability and the power to take decisions independently.She said that opposition to the movement for the establishment of women's rights in the Indian Sub-continent came from not political organisations but religious and social practices. Thus the liberation of women here was slow. Women's progress would get a boost in the present century of globalisation and satellite communication which has both good and bad aspects. The mass media alongside the social infrastructure would play an important role in settling the women's position in society in this era, she said. Shah Abdul Hannan emphasized the need for viewing the case of women's liberation from the perspective of liberation of the humanity from oppression. Women are human beings first and women later .As human beings women should have all rights that are necessary and desirable for all human beings. In addition they should have special rights as mothers because they carry more than men the duty of carrying all human beings in their womb and rearing them after birth.They have special rights regarding motherhood and their health issues .Nothing should be done which harm their motherhood and health .He cautioned against a reported move to amend the Muslim family law and urged the government to refrain from making such attempts that might had far reaching adverse consequences. Zubaida Gulshan Ara said that women should establish their rights not by physical force but through the use of wisdom using which they should carry men along. She called for proper awareness about rights at a time when global powers were carrying out large-scale destruction in one part of the planet on the plea of the establishment of peace.Mostafa Kamal Majumder underscored the need for having a comparative analysis of women's rights situation under other religions and in different societies for a proper appreciation of their rights in our society. He said women's rights should be pursued in a modern, efficient and smart way instead of sounding like going backward. We agree with the speakers. The rights of women have been more or less neglected in history. Only during the time of the Prophet and sometime thereafter women had genuine rights and honour. Thereafter even Muslims failed and women lost largely their right to Masjid, education, job and property.In the West the situation is queer, apparently they have all the rights but in reality they have become a kind of commodity and sex symbol, a resource for capitalist exploitation in advertisement and entertainment and such other areas. We are happy that a balanced Muslim movement, even feminist movement has come up with balanced view for women, give them honor and rights but not to make them commodity. This is an welcome development..
