KARACHI: The public role of a Muslim woman is diminished due to
certain misinterpretations and misconceptions about Islam, said Dr
Khalid Zaheer, an Islamic history scholar.
He was speaking at a seminar titled `The public role of Muslim women
in the history of Islam,’ organised by the Karachi Peace Women’s
Committee on Thursday to mark the International Women’s Day.
He said that one should not be forced to follow a certain school of
thought nor one should impose his religious belief on others. “We
should not be rigid about our views and broaden our vision. We need to
be receptive of other’s viewpoints too,” he said adding that he felt
that the real problem lies in the inability to think independently.
“The answer to this is not eliminating Madrassas. We should create a
parallel system and establish institutions that are based on
reflective thinking and led by intelligent people who are aware of the
ground realities about Islam and women,” he said.
Regarding the common misconception of the subordinate role of women
and their deficient intelligence, Dr Zaheer said that it was a
misinterpreted Quranic injunction, but the women have proved their
wisdom by ascending to leading positions as rulers, scholars and
leaders of the community.
Prof Rubina of the Aga Khan University said that nursing, which is a
commended profession in Saudi Arabia, is unfortunately looked down
upon in Pakistan. She said that the role of an Islamic woman, Rufaida,
who had been working in the area of nursing at the time of the holy
prophet, has never been highlighted.
Ex-ambassador, Mehdi Masood said that at the time of partition,
sacrifices had been rendered by an equal number of men and women and
it is therefore a responsibility of all Pakistanis to ensure that
Pakistan remains a viable entity.
Ismailimail 