Women cannot head Islamic org: Jamaat women

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami's women leaders have said holding the party's top post is not essential for women, stressing instead the need to safeguard women's rights and dignity, while seeking Election Commission (EC) action against alleged harassment of female activists during the election campaign.

The remarks came after Jamaat Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman recently said in an interview that a woman could not hold the position of Jamaat Ameer.

Asked whether the party's women leaders shared that view, Jamaat Women's Division Secretary Principal Nurunnisa Siddika said Jamaat-e-Islami, being an Islamic organisation, followed Islamic principles.

"You know Jamaat-e-Islami is an Islamic organisation. An Islamic organisation will naturally follow Islam," she said.

Citing a Quranic verse, she said Islam assigns leadership responsibility to men, describing it as a religious injunction. "Accordingly, women cannot come to the leadership of an Islamic organisation," she added.