ISLAMABAD: Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Minister Pir Noor ul Haq Qadri said his letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan for marking Hijab Day on March 8 was being misinterpreted for ‘point-scoring’.
“Such elements had in fact resorted to negative propaganda for political mileage without even going through the contents of the letter,” he added in a statement. The minister said the Muslim girls in India were psychologically and physically being tortured due to wearing Hijab, and in order to express solidarity with them he had proposed marking International Women’s Day as Hijab Day.
Qadri said he had urged the human and women rights organisations working in Pakistan to raise their voice against the burgeoning extremism and Islamophobia in various states of India. He had also asked the civil societies to highlight women issues like their right to property, education, job opportunities, domestic violence and harassment.
He said women’s rights were equally protected in Islam and the Constitution, but no one would be allowed to spread obscenity. The contents of his letter in fact reflected the overall thinking of Pakistani society vis a vis the Islamic values, he concluded.
Letter to PM on Hijab Day
Qadri courted controversy after he urged the government not to allow any organisation or individual to raise “anti-Islam slogans” during the Aurat March observed n International Women’s Day.
The minister wrote a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan urging him to mark the ‘International Hijab Day’ on March 8 to express solidarity with the Muslim women facing issues of religious independence and basic human rights across the world.
READ MORE: Noor-ul-Haq Qadri demands PM to ban Aurat March
He pointed out that some so-called human rights activists and organisations took out rallies under the banner of ‘Aurat March’ to highlight the issues being faced by women globally. “But they totally disregarded the problems being faced by Muslims, as their banners, placards and slogans mismatched with the local social, political and religious norms,: he lamented.
Qadri claimed that they rather resorted to maligning Islam’s golden principles of life, especially for women. He made it clear that Islam is a complete code of life and women’s rights are highly protected in Islamic societies. He urged the government not to give any individual or civil society free hand to “ridicule” the divine injunctions, particularly regarding hijab during Aurat March.
The minister said observing the ‘Hijab Day’ would help draw the attention of the international community, including the United Nations towards physical and psychological maltreatment of women, especially the Muslim students in India. He said Pakistan should ask the UN to play its due role in preventing the ongoing inhuman acts in India keeping in view religious independence of Muslims.
Qadri said to make the Hijab Day a successful event, programmes should be organised at federal and provincial levels, and the human rights and information ministries be directed to prepare a consolidated strategy on the matter.
