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| November 4, 2002 | Monday | Sha’aban 28,1423 |
‘MMA to work for women’s share in property’
PESHAWAR, Nov 3: Women MPs belonging to the NWFP pledged at the weekend to reform female health and education and repeal gender-biased laws, while encouraging women to cover themselves from head to toe and study at segregated campuses.
Eight women from the NWFP scored a place in the 60 seats newly-reserved for women in the 342-seat national parliament. Seven of them hail from the MMA.
The MMA landed the balance of power in parliament and swept the NWFP, where it is set to form government.
The women in MMA have been quick to allay fears in the West the alliance’s parties are planning to clamp down Taliban-style on women.
However, they want women-only universities and are seeking to encourage the wearing of the burqa.
“We have no intention of forcing women to be veiled, but we will convey the message of Allah in this regard and will convince women of the value of the burqa,” said Inayat Begum, who wears the orthodox Islamic robe.
“We would introduce reforms and create an atmosphere for women
where they would willingly wear the burqa.”
Women’s right to work will be supported and they will also be given the choice of attending single-sex educational institutes, the MMA women said.
“We will not ban co-education, but will establish women-only educational institutions, including a women’s university,” said JI’s Razia Aziz.
An Islamic education would be compulsory from an early age, with classes in the Quran and Arabic introduced from the start of school, another JI member-elect Jamila Ahmad said.
More positions for qualified female teachers will be created to remedy the poor standard of education at public schools in the NWFP, she said.
Free health services will be provided for widows and poor women and a female doctor would be posted in every village, the JI MPs-elect said.
And party legislators are already poring over laws in order to eliminate those that disadvantage women.
“Our legal advisors have started work on legislation that will ensure women have the right to a share in property,” Ahmad said, which would break a tradition that sees such assets usually owned by men in NWFP.
Women’s inheritance rights would also be made compulsory, she added.
Even divorce laws are set for a makeover to ensure women are given a share in assets if they are the ones requesting divorce, Begum said. —AFP
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