Muslims across the nation react strongly to the Fatwa, which bars women from working
My earning is not haram
Mariyambi Sherkhan (55) Employee of General Post Office When my husband passed away 28 years ago, my community members gave me a sermon about a veil being a must for a Muslim woman, especially one who steps out to go to work.
Nobody, however, felt it necessary to help me and my children.
I refused to heed to what they had to say.
Thanks to the job I took up, I was able to educate my son and daughter and even got them married.
I have toiled hard for my family. How can anyone call the fruit of my hard work haram?
If I quit my job, will the Deoband or my community support me financially? It's easy to preach, but one has to be practical.
I work with over 500 men and women. Wearing a veil will only alienate me from my colleagues. -- As told to Varun Singh
We may have to go hungry
Mussarat Jahan Sister of Ishrat, who was killed in a fake encounter in Gujarat in 2004 I do not approve of such thinking. If one were to follow the fatwa, what would happen to families where there is no male breadwinner?
My sister, Ishrat, used to feed our family of seven by giving tuitions. Now, all of us sisters shoulder the household responsibility along with our brother. We give tuitions at home and he works outside.
Our mother used to work too, but now due to poor health, she has had to discontinue.
If we follow the fatwa and depend only on our brother's meagre earnings, we may go to bed hungry everyday. -- As told to Vinod Kumar Menon
It's not practical
Najma Khan (30) Real estate executive based in the Gulf I refuse to comply with such a fatwa. Not that I'm not religious, just that I feel it's not practical in today's times.
I have a child and my aged parents who are dependent on me. My husband too has lost his job and presently depends on me. If I stop working, who will feed my family?
I consider myself a modern Muslim. Of course, I do understand my religion and follow all religious tenets. These days religion is being misinterpreted and I don't think we should heed to such diktats. This fatwa about a woman's earning being haram makes no sense. -- As told to Varun Singh
Dr Zeenat Ansari Physician Rubbish! Men who advocate such beliefs also insist on a lady doctor when their wives or daughters deliver babies. So they need lady doctors. And if women do not move out to study or practise medicine, what will these men do?
Farhana Shah Advocate I feel they [Deoband] do not want women to progress in life. It is unfortunate that they want to suppress our talent. Nowhere does the Holy Quran say women should not work or come up in life. I disagree with the fatwa.
Nafisa Ali Congress worker and social activist No woman should abide by the dictate. This Taliban-like concept is not relevant in India. Those who believe in such thoughts should go to a land where such things are given importance.
Thanks to my job, I did not seek any help
Malan Shaikh (56) Nurse-in-charge, Regional Mental Hospital, Yerwada, Pune I lost my husband about 20 years ago. Thanks to my job, I could sustain my three children and myself. I did not have to seek anybody's help. Today, my sons are pursuing careers abroad and my daughter works for an NGO. I have had to struggle a lot to keep my family and job. And my hard work has paid off today. -- Shree Lahiri
Such fatwas will only tarnish our image
Shaista Khanum (32) Computer teacher, New Delhi Though I fully respect and follow the Islamic way of life for women, I think this fatwa is taking matters a little too far. Instead of issuing such fatwas, clerics should concentrate on alleviating the misery of Muslim women and facilitating their education. Controversies, like this one, will only tarnish the image of Indian Muslims further. -- Yasir Ali
This fatwa is not in keeping with quran
Nuzhath Jabeen (27) Proprietor of event management company, Bangalore I had to start working at my father's tailoring shop after I quit school in class VI. Our family of eight had had to go through a lot of financial hardships. Having said this, I think such a fatwa is not in keeping with the Quran which has no restrictions for working women. As for married women working with men, it has a lot to do with trust. -- Bindiya Carmeline Thomas
Empower women Huma Kausar, an alumna of Rafiuddin Faquih Girls' High School Bhiwandi, is a judge at the Sessions court in Nashik Shahla Nigar of Patna stood first among women IAS candidates in 2005.
Saarah Rizvi of Mumbai cleared the 2009 IAS exams, ranking 86th and is now undergoing necessary training to join the highest level of bureaucracy. The list can go on.
There are many other examples of Muslim girls pursuing successful careers. The question is are we going to ask all these girls to sit at home as their earnings are not halal, as per the fatwa of Darul Uloom Deoband?
The girls don't pursue higher academics with the intention to earn money or avail high standards of living, but more because of their passion to serve the country and the community. They are well aware of the Dos and the Don'ts of Islam. That's the reason why they are proud Muslims, and at the same time respectable citizens of our nation.
The fatwa is unfortunate especially at a time when more Muslim girls than boys are eager to make their presence felt as responsible citizens. If we forget Huma, Sarah and Shahla and all the other Muslim women who work as receptionists, teachers, professors, doctors, consultants, psychologists and so on, then there are thousands of other girls who go out in the sun to do petty jobs with the sole objective of adding to the meager earnings of their families. If they quit earning, how will their families survive? What and where is the support system to feed those families who find it hard to make both ends meet?
A friend, who belongs to a family of Ulema, said: 'We have a habit of accepting realities after 50 years. So we always lag behind.' He said that during the British era, currency notes were not acceptable to a section of Muslims because it had the Queen's photograph printed on it. When the matter was referred to the mufti of Bhopal's grand mosque, he refused to give a fatwa by saying, 'Maaf keejiye, mera fatwa nahi chalega, note chal jaaega.'
If the Ulema did permit Muslims to get photographed as it was the need of the hour and is no longer forbidden, then why can't there be flexibility on the subject of Muslim women stepping out to work.
After all, we have had successful Muslim businesswomen even during the times of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). One shining example was that of Hazrat Khadija, wife of the prophet. Can anyone deny that?
Empowerment can't go hand in hand with such prohibitions. Let's work on that. Shahid Latif is editor of number one Urdu daily, Inquilab
