Gender imbalance exists all over India
Hyderabad, Feb 24 (INN): National Commission for Women chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said on Tuesday that the problems of Muslim women were similar to those belonging to other communities in the country.
The issue was with the non-inclusion of women in various aspects of life. 'In India, women are not given the nutrition they deserve. They are not given the education they deserve. They are not oven the recognition at the workplace which they deserve,' Kumaramangalam said. She emphatically said that gender imbalance exists, 'across the board.'
She was addressing students and faculty at Maulana Azad National Urdu University. The Centre for Women's Studies of MANUU in collaboration with National Commission for Women (NCW) had organised a colloquium on 'Mainstreaming the Indian Muslim Women' The Way Forward.'
The NCW chairperson pushed for value education in the country which is missing from schools today. 'Integrity, honesty and talent are qualities which all religions talk about. Schools have forgotten to teach these. They foster competition but do not teach to work in teams. There should be mutual respect between boys and girls,' she said. Muslim women, like all other women, want to be employable and economically independent, she added. Kumaramangalam said that the country cannot progress if women, who account for roughly half of India's population, are left behind.
NCW member Shamina Shafiq said that problems of women were the same but the solutions were different. She said that these problems were well known and solutions need to be found. She noted that commitment to tackle issues in South India was more than that in the North. She urged NGOs to share best practices so as to not waste time in 'reinventing the wheel.'
Delivering her keynote address, Prof Amina Kishore indicated that it was unfair to hold a patriarchal system in Islam or the Muslim clergy alone responsible for problems of women. She said that the 'language between genders needs to change' even as she pointed out that the feminism in the 'western construct' did not suit India.
Others who spoke included activist Rubeena Mazhar, Dr Rafath Seema, Congress leader Khaleeq-ur-Rahman, among others.
Dr Ameena Tahseen, In-Charge Centre for Women Studies welcomed the audience.
News Posted: 24 February, 2015
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