NEW DELHI: A RSS affiliated Muslim body brought together over 10,000 women for a convention to address issues like family planning, employment, Talaq (divorce) “prevalent” in the community.
The convention passed an Ahd (resolution) on family planning and other issues, and even announced setting up of a welfare fund.
Talking about the idea behind holding a first ever national convention for muslim women, Muslim Rashtriya Manch’ general secretary Girish Juyal said, muslim women were the “weakest link” who had to bear the brunt in te society. The convention was aimed at strengthening them, he added
According to the discussions and the resolution at the convention, muslim women were told to adopt ways to enhance their income their self help groups and self employment. Sources said the discussions veered around the topic of talaq and family planning, a issue which the RSS has been concerned about in the community.
“As resources are limited in the country, and for proper raising up of children, their education and health, it was stressed that muslim women commit to having a smaller family limited to two children,” a Muslim Rashtriya Manch leader told Express.
The muslim body earlier held district level meetings across the counter, finally holding a national meeting Ajmer. The discussiuons and resolution adopted was in consonance with the similar resolution passed by RSS expressing concern of the demographic imbalance in the country.
“... the share of population of religions of Bharatiya origin which was 88 percent has come down to 83.8 percent while the Muslim population which was 9.8 percent has increased to 14.23 percent during the period 1951-2011... rate of growth of Muslim population has been very high than national average, in the border districts of border States of the country like Assam, West Bengal and Bihar, clearly indicating the unabated infiltration from Bangladesh,” RSS resolution passed in October had said.
Apart from the discussions on employment and family planning issues related to divorce were also discussed. “It is seen that talaqs are rampant in nuclear families, rather than the joint families. Men often in fit of rage or under the influence of some intoxicant utter talaq sever ties with their wives. So it was dicssused how to counter this,” a MRM insider said.
The discssuions were also held related to asking the muslim personal law board to formulate uniform policy in dealing with the community matters so that women were not left marginalised.
Sources resolutions also touched up issue of intolerance and terrorism, cleanliness. A fund for muslim women was also launched.