CUTTACK: Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), a movement of Muslim women, has hit out at All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) for its opposition to yoga.
Taking on the powerful Muslim body and also the VHP, which are sparring over the recent Yoga Day celebrations, the organisation fighting for rights of Muslim women asked them to quit positioning themselves as spokespersons of either Hindus or Muslims.
Coming out firmly in support of yoga, the BMMA stated that it is a historical system that finds favour with people not just in India but all over the world. The BMMA believes that as long as any system is voluntary, it should not be opposed on any grounds including religious.
The AIMPLB and the likes of Sadhvi Prachi, Yogi Adityanath or Sakshi Maharaj have no right to speak on behalf of any community as both have no acceptance or validity in the larger society. They have nothing to contribute constructively to society and have only mastered the art of spreading hatred and dividing society on religious lines, BMMA co-founder Noorjehan Safia Niaz alleged.
They have taken fanatical, illiberal and antiquated positions whenever any issue concerning woman’s position in society has arisen. Be it marriage between persons of different faiths, woman’s right to divorce, woman’s right to work and rights of gay persons, these groups have opposed social change in unison.
“Our Constitution has enough safeguards against imposition of beliefs on those unwilling to accept it. Indian citizens have their own way of making their own preferences without help from both these groups. Indian society should be spared of the tyranny of self-styled religious leaders both of Hindu and Muslim variety,” Odisha convenor Farhat Amin said.