EVEN though it has come rather late, the Jamaat-i-Islami’s decision to have women on its supreme consultative body, the shura, deserves to be welcomed.

Founded as far back as 1941, the JI had an all-male shura all these decades, despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of its leadership and cadres comes from the educated middle class with an urban background.

Unlike most religious parties and so-called ‘secular’ ones, the JI’s leadership does not consist of feudal lords and rich businessmen often tainted by allegations of corruption.

Precisely for that reason (its fiery rhetoric apart), the Jamaat’s activities are characterised by discipline, and the party’s propaganda techniques and street agitation have a hue of their own.

For that reason — if we ignore the violence-prone activities of its student wing on some campuses, especially during the Zia era— the JI has been able, largely through political means, to secure a space for itself in the academia, media, trade unions, bureaucracy and the armed forces.

It also showed some spirit of ijtehad when its founder Maulana Maudoodi decided to support Fatima Jinnah against Ayub Khan in the presidential election half a century ago.

Yet women’s role in the decision-making process all these decades had been conspicuous by its absence. On Tuesday, however, 10 women attended the shura meeting to break the party leadership’s male monopoly.

Women’s inclusion in the shura marks the JI’s recognition of women’s ever-greater role worldwide in social and political domains. There have been positive changes even in conservative countries such as Saudi Arabia and some Gulf sheikhdoms.

The question is whether women’s presence in the shura will make a difference to JI’s policies on such gender issues as the age of marriage and the women’s protection law in Punjab.

A split along gender lines is unlikely because it is the ideology prism through which all JI members look at national and foreign policy issues in a manner that shows lack of flexibility. Ultimately, this is reflected in the JI’s vote bank.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2016