 Online edition of India's National Newspaper Sunday, Mar 21, 2010 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version |
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NEW DELHI: “Reservation for women is inevitable and cannot be prevented from taking place,” eminent lyricist Javed Akhtar, who was recently nominated to the Rajya Sabha, said here on Saturday. Speaking at a protest meeting to support the Women's Reservation Bill and to condemn allegedly reprehensible statements made by clerics with regard to women, Mr. Akhtar said it was “disappointing” that reservations for women had not taken place earlier. AIMPLB rapped “What right does the All India Muslim Personal Law Board have to ask for a quota for Muslim women in Parliament when it has never provided any quotas for women in any field?” Mr. Akhtar asked, adding that political parties opposing the Bill too had not spoken up for Muslim women's rights in the past. According to Mr. Akhtar, parties are opposing the Bill as members are scared of having their privileges taken away. “Clerics cannot deny Muslim women their rights as they are also Indian women and are entitled to Constitutional rights,” he said. A statement was also released at the meeting which stated that once the Women's Reservation Bill “is adopted, there can and will be democratic processes through which space and genuine participations for excluded women, including Muslim women, can be worked out.” Member of ‘Act Now for Harmony and Democracy' Shabnam Hashmi said: “If parties are concerned about the plight of Muslim and OBC women, they can allot them space in the party and the political structure but they must not protest reservation for women.” ‘Diversionary tactic' “The clerics who are remembering Islam and the political parties who are suddenly concerned about the plight of Muslim women are protesting against the Bill as a diversionary tactic so that it is not passed. They should know that it is important for the Women's Reservation Bill to be passed,” she added. All India Democratic Women's Association member Sehba Farooqui said: “Reservations for society will not transform the society overnight. Yet it is a step forward towards empowering women.” Lawyer Khadija who spoke at the meeting pointed out: “When Muslim women participated in the struggle for India's independence, they were not fighting for their own independence but for the country's independence as a whole. “Similarly, we do not want distinct reservations for Muslim, OBC or Dalit women but for women in general.”
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