LAHORE, Sept 4: Certain western societies have deprived women of their right to observe hijab (scarf) in the name of women rights and liberalism, which has ruined both the family system and the society there.

Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general Liaqat Baloch said this on Tuesday at a rally organised by the party’s women and family wing to mark the World Hijab Day near the Press Club.

“Hijab and purdah (veil) were in fact the real assets of women which one can restrict them from practicing,” he added.

Begum Samiah Raheel Qazi, JI’s women wing assistant secretary general, Aafia Sarwar and others led the rally.

Baloch said use of the women for commercial purposes had virtually ruined the western society.

He said Pakistani rulers were aping the West and wanted to exploit womenfolk in the name of emancipation and rights. However, he said, the JI would continue its struggle for the protection of women rights and the enforcement of Islamic system.

MWM: Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslameen Lahore’s women wing Chief Syeda Khanum Sakina Mehdvi, speaking at a ceremony organised here at Wapda Town to mark the Hijab Day, said the observance of scarf was a pride for the Muslim women across the world.