[ALOCHONA] ] On Governments Women policy 2008 (editorial ... Asia Post, Dhaka, dated 14.8.08)

 

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On Governments Women policy 2008

News papers have reported that Women and Children Affairs Adviser Rasheda K Choudhury yesterday asked people not to criticise the newly adopted National Women Development Policy without reading it first, saying that the policy does not include anything against the Quran and the Hadith."Some quarters, without going through the policy, thought that it contains something contrary to Allah's law," she said referring to recent rumours that the policy contains statement on inheritance law that opposes Islam.Like the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), it is only a strategy to work out measures for women development, Rasheda Choudhury said adding that the council of advisers has formulated the policy knowing it fully well. She was talking to reporters at her office in the Secretariat.Mentioning the law adviser's Tuesday's statement that the caretaker government has not passed any law regarding inheritance, she regretted that the women development policy has been misinterpreted.
"The reason for such hue and cry is not clear to me because the policy does not say anything about inheritance law, it only indicates property earned by women," she said referring to a clause of the policy that suggests enacting new law to ensure equal opportunity and control on all earned movable and immovable properties. .Unlike the previous two women development policies of 1997 and 2004, the new policy is aligned with the PRSP and the Millennium Development Goals, the adviser said pointing out some progressive features including five-month maternal leave and steps to help the disabled women and stop exploitation of women in labour market."The policy has some progressive matters. It contains some short-term and long-term policies for women's rights."
The caretaker government will implement the short-term policies while the long-term ones will depend on the elected government, Rasheda Choudhury said.Saying that the caretaker government is not enacting any law, she said mechanism will be strengthened to monitor enforcement of the existing laws passed to ensure women rights.

 

We feel the misunderstanding has arisen due to bad wordings used by the Ministry in its draft and the Advisor can not avoid responsibility.The policy says that "law will be enacted to law to ensure equal opportunity and control on all earned movable and immovable properties" The explanation given by the Advisor that it relates to only property earned by women," was not there .The words we feel were put in without qualification by some quarters with ulterior motive and if outcry was not raised in future so-called liberals and ultra-seculars would have mis used this policy document.We feel that the policy document should be suitably amended and ambiguous words should be removed.

We know that Islam is not against women in any sense ,the financial rights granted by Allah to women as maintenance, mahr and inheritence to women put them in a very advantageous position in ninety five percent or more cases.For most of the people inheritance is a small amount where as lifelong maintenace of wife and children put on men is the most difficult financial burden.We are for granting all rights to women in all areas of life without violating clear stipulations of the Quran and authenticated Sunnah.



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