MODI GOVERNMENT URGED TO TAKE EFFECTIVE STEPS FOR UNIVERSALISATION OF MUSLIM GIRLS EDUCATION Press Release Mumbai – September 30, 2014 The government of Shri Narendra Modi must unveil special measures to ensure universalisation of education for Muslim girls, which is indispensable for both women’s empowerment and for India’s inclusive development, communal harmony and national integration. ‘Education for All’ must mean educational opportunities for Muslims too. And educational opportunities for Muslims must mean equal opportunities for Muslim girls and women, too. At the same time, the Muslim community should also change its mindset and remove internal obstacles that hinder girls’ education, especially higher education. This was the consensus of the daylong seminar on best practices in Muslim girls’ education organized jointly by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) in Mumbai today. “Muslim women are a minority within a minority. This situation should change. The Constitution of India gives equal rights to women of all communities. The Holy Quran also has made learning and gaining knowledge compulsory for Muslims, with no discrimination between men and women,” said Dr. Shabistan Gaffar, chairperson of NCMEI’s Committee on Girls’ Education, who inaugurated the seminar. Dr. Gaffar also added, “The government offers many opportunities and facilities for girls’ education. NGOs and educational institutions should come forward to take full advantage of them.” Sudheendra Kulkarni, chairman of ORF Mumbai, urged the BJP government at the Centre to make Muslim girls’ education a matter of high priority. It should significantly increase budgetary provisions for establishing schools and colleges, constructing adequate number of hostels, and giving scholarships to meritorious students, he said. Kulkarni also said that India cannot grow to its full potential if Muslim women remain secluded and excluded from education, employment and economic development. Only 2.5% of Muslim women are graduates, the lowest among religious communities in India. Lamenting the high school dropout rate among Muslim girls, he said that many talented girls who are eager to pursue higher education are unable to do so because of resistance from within families and the community. This too must change, he said. A large number of educationists and NGOs participated in the seminar. Many of them said the government should take cognizance of the specific concerns and circumstances of the Muslim community. They also underscored the importance of religious and moral education. A highlight of the seminar was the release of a documentary film UNCLE: the school in himself, and also a booklet bearing the same title, on Syed Feroz Ashraf, whose informal school has brought the light of education into the lives of hundreds of poor Muslim girls in slums in Mumbai. The film is directed by well-known film-maker Mazhar Kamran. The booklet is authored by Aparna Sivakumar and Dr. Sumedh, both ORF researchers.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 15:52:18 +0000
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