PESHAWAR, May 31: Women associated with different non-governmental organisations on Thursday demanded of the government to take prompt action against a cleric and former MNA from Kohistan for issuing a threatening fatwa (religious decree) against NGO workers.

“It is time we raised our voice against such decrees and take the issue seriously,” said members of End Violence against Women/Girls Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata Alliance during a consultative meeting in Peshawar Press Club. The meeting was called to discuss the decree issued by a cleric and former MNA Maulvi Abdul Haleem of Kohistan against female NGO workers on May 4.

“During a Friday sermon, Mr Haleem had warned that women working with NGOs would not be allowed to enter Kohistan and that violators would be forcibly married off to the local men,” said Qamar Naseem quoting a media report.

Ms Naseem said that Maulvi Haleem had also reportedly stated that it was against the religious teachings that a woman received education and used it to get employment.

“We are here to form a strategy to ensure protection of women rights,” she said.

Noor Education Trust chairperson Zubaida Noor, Aurat Foundation’s representative Shirin Javed and Saira from Shirkat Gah described the hostile environment and misconceptions about the work of women rights’ activists as the main hurdle to their activities.

“We should not take such fatwas lightly as they encourage crime against women,” said Ms Noor.

Ms Javed said that it was time the female NGO workers stood up for their rights and tell the people that they were not doing anything unethical.

Other participants demanded that the government should take strict measures against people like Maulvi Haleem who deprived women of their rights. The women activists vowed to raise voice over issues involving protection of women’s dignity.

A participant said that almost a decade ago such a decree was issued by a cleric in Dir, but that had proved only a verbal threat. Such threats have been faced by women working with NGOs, said Ms Saira.

Other NGO workers hailing from rural areas said that it was time they broke silence on the threats they faced at the hands of extremists.

Riffat Kazmi, an NGO worker from Mansehra, said that all religious figures did not consider women’s work as un-Islamic. “Perhaps the decree is personal opinion of Maulvi Haleem and other ulema should be engaged to persuade him to stay away from hurling threats at women,” Kazmi said.

The participants also held a demonstration against the decree issued by the cleric and signed a charter of demands. They asked the government to take tangible steps for enforcement of relevant laws to protect women rights and conduct an impartial investigation into the issuance of decrees by religious clerics against women.

In a resolution, they called upon the government to ensure protection of basic rights of women, full implementation of relevant laws, inclusion of human rights and gender equality in syllabus and proper legislation to stop jirgas and clerics from issuing decrees against both men and women.