West held responsible for degrading status of women

Women Parliamentarians from Iran have told Muslim women to be wary of the tactics of anti-Islamic forces, who are using women to destroy the fabric of Islamic family system, a media report said on Saturday. Daily ‘The News’ quoted the Iranian parliamentarians as saying that in the name of freedom, the West has degraded the status of women to merely marketing tools. They emphasised that Islam gives equal rights to men and women, but their responsibilities are different. They urged Muslim women to follow the teachings of Islam. They said that educated and learned women have the responsibility to transfer their knowledge to others and a woman could play better role in building a peaceful and prosperous society, if she was well aware of her status and obligations. They were speaking at a seminar titled ‘The Role of Women in the Awakening of Muslim World’ organised by Ahl-eBait Women Welfare Society and Jamia Khadija tul Kubra. The guest speakers included Head of women wing of Iranian Parliament Dr. Tayyibeh Safaie and head of the women wing of World Ahl-e-Bait Assembly Dr. Iran Rokanbandi. A large number of students and teachers of different religious schools attended the seminar. The speakers said in the changing global environment, women were making their presence felt in every walk of life. “The countries that deny the importance to women in development remain underdeveloped,” said Dr. Tayyibeh Safaie. She said that women have the power to nurture and transform societies and their role cannot be ignored. She said that in Islam, women can be an active member of the society without neglecting her family. “Iran has practically proved this fact. That is why its social system is always criticised by the enemies of Islam and this specific mindset is also creating fear of Iran in the hearts of common people through media,” she said. Tayyibeh said that women are the principle trainers of the society. “They are the centre of the family and it is vital that they realise their primary role.” She regretted that all international agreements for the empowerment of women ignore the importance of family system. Dr. Iran Rokanbandi highlighted the role and responsibilities of educated Muslim women and gave useful tips to future scholars. She stressed them to use modern techniques of teaching while spreading the words of Islam. She said that the world has witnessed the awakening of Muslim world in past few years. “It is right time that Muslim women realised and played their due role in this movement.” The speakers also expressed their well wishes for Pakistan.