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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday came down heavily on Hefajat-e Islam leader Allama Shafi for his ‘derogatory and indecent remarks’ about women.
“One religious leader recently made some indecent remarks about women. I’m totally confused how a religious leader could utter such indecent remarks when Islam showed the highest respect for women,” she said without mentioning any name.
She was inaugurating 88 AC buses bought under the one billion dollar Indian line of credit at her official residence Gono Bhaban.
Recently, in the social media, a speech of Hefajat-e Islam supreme leader Allama Shafi was widely circulated where he made indecent remarks regarding the women and likened them with mouth-watering tamarind.
Hasina said such remarks from an Islamic leader are unwanted and obviously derogatory.
She mentioned that the first person who embraced Islam was a woman (Bibi Khadiza), Bibi Ayesha fought in the battlefield alongside the Prophet and won a battle, and Bibi Sumaiya was the first martyr in the history of Islam.
Bibi Khadiza also engaged herself in trade and business, she said.
“I want to ask him (Allama Shafi), didn’t he come from a mother’s womb? Won’t he respect the mother? Doesn’t he have a sister or wife? Won’t he uphold their dignity?” the prime minister said.
Referring to the Hefajat ‘tie-up’ with BNP, she said the Hefajat is now under the leadership of BNP and the leader of BNP is a woman. How could he (Allama Shafi) accept her as the leader?
Hasina requested the women leaders to further raise their voice so that no one in the future could use indecent words against any woman.
She also mentioned that Islam is the only religion which properly safeguards the rights of women. “Only we (as Muslims) can claim the property from both the father’s and the husband’s sides.”
Regarding the remarks of Allama Shafi about the women leadership, the prime minister said that it was the people who will decide their leadership.
But, she said, she and her party always believe in the decency of clothes.
Hasina said: “We’re always in favour of maintaining the decency of clothes, but we’ve to remember that clothes are used as per the weather and climate of a particular region. The clothes of a hot country may not be suitable for the cold weather of another country.”
Source: The Daily Star
