eople voted the BJP to power for providing jobs and better living conditions and not for ‘converting’ Muslims to Hinduism. The party was carrying on the conversion bogey only to consolidate the Hindu votes, said former MP Subhashini Ali.
Addressing Muslim women here on Sunday, she blamed the BJP and the Majlis leaders for indulging in making provocative statements to strengthen their vote banks. But none of the parties did anything for the communities whose cause they claimed to champion. “Their love is only limited to pocketing the community votes,” she alleged.
The CPI (M) leader faulted the ‘tit-for-tat’ politics of Majlis and said the consequences would have to be borne by the poor Muslims. If a riot took place, it was not the house of Mr. Owaisi but those of poor people which would be torched. A large chunk of Hindus did not believe in the Hindutva ideology of the BJP-RSS and it was their support that the minorities should avail.
Ms. Ali, who is also the vice-president of All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), urged the Muslim women to organise themselves to fight for their rights. Minorities were a marginalised lot in the country and more so the minority women. The Muslim women were at the receiving end both within and outside their homes. “Our fight is not against men, but against the discriminatory thinking,” she said and added that problems of Muslim women were problems of all women.
Hindu women also faced dowry harassment and were deserted by their husbands. Bigamy was prevalent in the majority community, but it was not talked about. In this connection, she cited the case of film actor Dharmender who married twice.
The meeting resolved to set up a 10-member Muslim Minority Women’s Committee with Sameena Afroze, AIDWA State committee member, as convener to look into the problems faced by women.
Published - January 19, 2015 12:00 am IST
