International Seminar on Women Empowerment held in Calicut

By Ramziya Ashraf,

Calicut: In today’s male-dominant society, a woman’s role as the iconic mother of mankind hardly gets the meaning and significance it requires. Religious ideologies and scriptures are misused and misinterpreted to oppress women, instead of empowering and emancipating them. “Social development can only be achieved by equal participation and involvement of both the male and female sections of the society. Discriminations continue against women, especially in North India, even though the government has provided them with equal rights,” said Dr. Abusaleh Shariff, chief economist, NCAER and Member Secretary, Sachar Committee, while inaugurating a national seminar on “Women Empowerment: Paradigms, Sources and Methodologies” conducted by the Institute of Objective Studies (IOS) in association with National Women’s Front (NWF), at Calicut town hall. The three day seminar was held from January 6-8 as a part of the silver jubilee celebrations of IOS.

Dr. Abusaleh Shariff advocated the use of religious and historical values to study the significance of women’s involvement for reforming the nation. The keynote address was delivered by Prof. Nazneen Begum, Bangalore Corporation Counselor, who emphasized empowerment of women at the family-level. She opined that women should be given a chance in the financial management of the family, and they should be aware of their responsibilities towards the society and the nation, which they can impart through their family. Dr. Yousuf Dadoo from Durban (South Africa) presented a paper on Gender Equity in Islam in the first session of the 3-day conference. IOS Chairman Dr. Manzoor Alam presided over the session.

The first session on the second day analyzed the role of women in religions and ideologies. Dr. Raziya Parveen, Assistant Professor of History, Qaaed-e-Millath College, Chennai and Shabana Ziyad, a journalist based in Kochi presented papers. Both of them pointed out how the Hindu scriptures, like Manusmrithi, chained women by their family bonds and saw her as a mere object for man’s wants and desires. Even Marxism, which allegedly rates both men and women on the same scale, does not object to the distinct wage system that exists in our country, and all over the world. Raziya Parveen stated that the Arab springs have proved the revolutionary role women can play in politically reforming a nation. This has given hope for the liberation of women, too.

In the second session of the day, renowned writer and Jamaat-e-Islami Media Secretary, C. Dawood presented an impressive paper on Muslim Personal Law Board. He alleged that the board is making use of outdated books to interpret Islamic laws and merely serves to guard the laws formed decades ago. No initiative is being taken to reform the laws according to the needs of the present era.

Distinguished personalities from India and abroad presented their papers on various topics, Shahrifa Shaidah, member of Malaysian Opposition Party, Kadilan and India’s Indonesian Embassy Member Counselor, Hendra Henny Andris among them. The role of women in the public space was examined and analyzed by scholars like Dr. Jadeeda, Kerala University, K K Raihanath and Shahida Aslam, Mangalore.

The third and final day of the international seminar started with a session on the representation of women. Papers were presented on various topics such as ‘representation of marginalised women’ by Rekha Raj, ‘role of women in the political change in Middle East’ by Zulaikha Rasheed and ‘redefining the role of women in contemporary society’ by Fareedha Hassan. Prof. A.A. Vahab, Secretary of the IOS, Calicut Chapter gave a sermon on how empowerment can be achieved through faith. The paper on ‘how women are seen as a commodity and how the media portray Muslim women’ by Seema Mohsin, a freelance journalist from Bangalore, was noteworthy and of substantial significance. She illustrated how the media often portray a Muslim woman as oppressed and subjugated to her male counterpart. 

The media compete to report domestic crimes and offenses against Muslim women in countries like Pakistan, as if the patriarchal crimes are accepted and approved by the religious scriptures, whereas the media fail to report the punishment imposed on men who mistreat their women in Muslim countries like Indonesia. She also pointed out that even though the socio-cultural status of the Muslim women has improved significantly in the last few years, it is still rather distressing in countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Eminent personalities from various sectors were honored and awarded for their contributions to the society. Author Dr. Kamal Pasha, Dr. Fakhrudheen Ahmed, Prof. Nazneen Begum, writer Jamal Kochangadi, NWF Vice President A.S. Zainaba and JIH leader Sheikh Muhammad Karakkunnu were among the awardees. A few titles published by the IOS were released by Dr. Abusaleh Shariff, by handing over copies to Prof. Habeeba Pasha.

The seminar was a good initiative by the IOS and it included distinguished speakers and guests. The topics of presentation were significant and in terms with current issues. But the audience were a bit less enthusiastic and rather marginalized. About 90% of the women who participated were NWF members and normal housewives. 

This wouldn’t have been a bad thing at all had the presentations been in the regional language. Except for the papers on the third day, none of the English presentations on day one and two were translated into Malayalam. The Calicut Town Hall, where the seminar was held, was literally overflowing with participants on the first day; but there was a drastic decline in the number of audience on the second day. Most of the seats were empty and even the few people who were present didn’t seem genuinely interested in the topics that were being discussed. Whether the problem lies with the presentations or the selective audience is a matter of discussion.