Muslims and the Women's Reservation Bill

Translated from an opinion piece in The Inquilab in Urdu, reproduced belowu00a0is a column by Managing Director MiD DAY Multimedia, Tariq Ansari, on the MiD DAY group's stand on the Women's Reservation Bill

"Let us not get misled by so called 'leaders' of our community who want to keep us backward."

All week some political parties have opposed an important legislation in Parliament. They have done this in the most shameful way, disrupting proceedings, destroying property and almost physically manhandling our Vice President, a sober and learned gentleman.
They do this in the name of Muslim interests.
They say they are concerned about the fate of Muslim women.

The Inquilab disagrees, and disagrees strongly.
The Women's Reservation Bill will make it possible for women of all communities to become equal shareholders of our nations destiny. It will begin to undo a history of male domination of the electoral process and allow capable women with a strong sense of public service to come forward and contribute to their communities and their society. How is this a bad thing?

The forces that oppose the bill insist that a portion of the reserved seats should be kept aside for Muslims and for backward classes. Why is this necessary? If these parties feel so strongly about the issue why have they consistently refused to give Muslim women tickets for elections in the past? Why this sudden concern about the Muslim woman?

Of course, there are forces within our community who add their voice to the clamour of opposition. Lacking any rational argument they claim that the political establishment is intent on keeping Muslims out of politics. And they say that in any case Muslim women 'must keep in mind the tenets of Islam'. There is nothing Islamic in their real intentions, to keep Muslim women uneducated, unempowered and at home.

As a community we lose if the bill does not pass.
A number of those reserved constituencies will have large Muslim populations. From those constituencies will come our Muslim sisters as parliamentarians. We have the fullest confidence that they will work tirelessly to improve the lot of the community. Why should we lose that opportunity?
Today every Indian believes that Muslims are the reason why the Bill will not pass. Once again the slander is expressed that Muslims are backward and seek to keep their women closeted and unproductive.
Does this help us?

Let us support the Women's Reservation Bill wholeheartedly.
Let us say to the shameless politicians that they cannot fire their guns from our shoulders.
And let us not get misled by so called 'leaders ' of our community who want to keep us backward.
Muslims in India need change and true champions who speak for us and our real issues of education, jobs, health care, safety and an end to all discrimination.
For 63 years our men have not provided this leadership. Let us look to our sisters now.