Decree against women canvassing termed a stunt

MANSEHRA: An influential cleric and a candidate of Pattan-Kiyal Ittehad in Kohistan’s sole national assembly constituency NA-12, Maulana Kareemdad, on Monday termed a 30-ulema fatwa (religious decree) against women canvassing just a political stunt issued to benefit aspirants of a political party.

He told reporters a woman contender, if clad in a veil goes door-to-door to solicit votes for her, or her party, it is not repugnant to Islamic Sharia.

Maulana Kareemdad said he had gone through all points of that fatwa and reached the conclusion that all those issues discussed therein were only related to the Feb 8 general elections.

“This fatwa has been issued on all such points where Jamiat-i-Ulema-Fazl (JUIF) has been lagging behind in these elections in Kohistan,” he said.

The cleric said if a man or woman does not cast his/ her vote and sits idle at home, in fact he or she avoided the testimony, which is repugnant to Islamic injunctions.

“In this modern era, one shouldn’t restrict women polling as they make up at least 50 percent of our population as my family’s women cast their votes and performed as polling agents during elections in the past,” he said.

Maulana Kareemdad said for a voter his or her party’s ideology was not as important as Islamic Sharia.

“The Islamic ideology and Sharia prefer for a Muslim to choose the best among those vying in elections as ones’ honesty and sincerity matter’s much in a Muslim society,” he elaborated.

Maulana Kareemdad said women voters shouldn’t be restricted from going to polling stations to cast votes.

A group of Kohistan clerics, mostly the JUIF members, had issued a fatwa recently against canvassing by women election candidates terming it an un-Islamic act.