PESHAWAR, Oct 17: The women wing of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) has vowed to provide women basic military training and to make the controversial Hudood Ordinance consonant with the teachings of the Holy Quran.

Speaking at a press conference here at the Peshawar Press Club on  Thursday, JI Women Commission Chairperson Rahil Qazi alleged that the successive governments had misinterpreted the ordinance making it ambiguous and controversial.

She asserted that the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) would implement the Hudood Ordinance in its true form, after removing flaws from the existing law which needed revision.   

The Jamaat, she said, would not allow anyone to victimize women in the name of Islam. It would repeal all discriminatory laws against the women, she pledged.

She said that according to the JI’s Women Rights Charter the women would be given rifle training to defend themselves.

She said the commission would seek government’s help to arrange funds and facilities for the training, which, she held, was essential in a male-dominated society. Inadequate women police force could not provide protection to the women, she added.

Ms Rahil Qazi dispelled the impression that the MMA would curb the women’s  freedom, and criticized media for portraying what she called a false image of the religious parties.

She assured the Press that the MMA would grant social and economic rights to the women if the alliance came into power at the Centre and the provinces.

The women had right to live their lives in accordance with the teachings of Islam, she said.

She said the MMA would not force the women to wear veil, and would give them their due place in society.

The chairperson also said the JI would end all discriminatory customs against women, including honour killing, domestic violence and the culture of swap-marriages.