Muslim women’s board demands separate quota
Conditions pitiable, says AIMWPLB
Amid the ongoing debate on the issue of reservation, the All India Muslim Women Personal Board (AIMWPLB) has demanded a separate quota for women belonging to minority communities.
AIMWPLB President Shaista Ambar said the government should create a separate quota for women within the sub-quota that has been carved out for the minorities from Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation.
“Conditions of Muslim and other minority communities are pitiable. Their representation in government jobs is almost negligible. Hence, we demand that there should be separate quota for minority women,” Shaista Ambar told Deccan Herald.
Reservation for minorities in government jobs and institutions has become an issue of hot debate after the Centre created 4.5 per cent sub-quota for minorities within the 27 per cent reservation earmarked for OBCs.
Ambar demanded that the government should set up a separate commission to study the problems of Muslim women, which have not been discussed in detail even in the report of Sachar Committee or other panels formed to study the socio-economic conditions of the community.
“Even the Sachar Committee and Ranganath Mishra Commission have not written in detail about the condition of women, which is worsening because they don’t even know about their rights,” Ambar claimed. The AIMWPLB wrote to the President in January 2011 asking for her intervention to help Muslim women in getting their “due rights.”
Responding to the letter of AIMWPLB, the Centre has asked the Muslim Personal Law Board to take steps in the right direction.
Darul Uloom flayed
Ambar is also critical of the education pattern followed and promoted by Darul Uloom, the renowned Islamic seminary in the Deoband town of Uttar Pradesh.
“Darul Uloom gets crores of rupees in grant from the community. Why should this money be spent only on opening new madrassas, why can’t they give this money to open institutes of modern education and a substantial number of them should be for women,” Ambar said.
She also appealed to the government to have some welfare schemes for those women from the community who are in dire need of help. Many widows and divorcees are left to fend for themselves.
Grievances
* AIMWPLB wants government to set up separate commission to study conditions of Muslim women.
* It wants separate reservations for women from the sub-quota carved our for Other Backward Classes.
* Body says representation in government jobs negligible.
* It also questions as to why crores of rupees was given to Darul Uloom which is spending the money ‘only for opening new madrassas’.
