PESHAWAR, 24 Oct: The Jamaat-i-Islami, a major component of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, has vowed to bring about far-reaching changes in the society, empowering womenfolk in all walks of life, including imposition of ban on co-education at all levels.

Talking to Dawn on Women’s Rights Charter, Razia Aziz, a JI spokeswoman said the educational atmosphere at universities and colleges, which run a co-education system, did not conform to the Islamic moral standards.

Razia Aziz, an MMA nominee for women’s reserved seat for NA, also underlined the need for introducing a change in the system. She said the MMA would ban co-education and set up separate institutions for men and women.

She said all these changes would be made in phases and in consultation with the experienced educationists in the larger interest of the students.

She denied that their plan was aimed at gender segregation as being propagated by certain quarters.

She was of the view that this gender-based scheme would not cost much to the national exchequer, “instead it needed proper management of things.”

“We will separate classrooms of girls from those of boys at their departments,” she added.

Giving an outline of the MMA’s education policy, she said that religious teaching would also encompass the translation of Holy Quran and teaching of Arabic as part of curriculum.

“Islam is not confined to the teaching of Islamic history, it is more than that. It guides us on how to lead our lives in this world,” she added.

Talking about the healthcare kit of the MMA, she said women in urban as well rural areas would be provided with medical facilities and new health centres would be established to cater to the needs of the growing population.

The Hadood Ordinance, she said, would be enforced in the light of interpretations of laws by the Council of Islamic Ideology.

“These laws provide security to the womenfolk. There are some problems which sprang from the misinterpretation of the Hadood Ordinance. “Such laws will be amended according to the teaching of Islam,” she added.

Speaking about the role and activities of the NGOs working for the empowerment of women, she said only those NGOs should be allowed to carry out their projects which are for the social welfare. Those having an anti-Islamic stance should be discouraged from operating.

The NGOs have so far been unable to empower women and in the name of social work, many are working for anti-Islam lobbies, she claimed.