Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Oct 2: Alarmed at the surge in crimes against women, the Valley’s chief cleric and moderate Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq today urged the people to socially boycott the persons involved in domestic violence acts.
Addressing Friday congregation at historic Jama Masjid here, Mirwaiz threw light on the issue of ‘Rights of Women in Islam’ and said Kashmiri Muslims should take note of the crimes perpetuated against the womenfolk. “There was no precedence of taking or giving dowry in Islam and as such the practice needed to be discouraged,” he said.
Mirwaiz said that demands for dowry and showoff in marriages are becoming a reason for late marriages of women in Kashmir despite the fact that the concept of dowry was a non-Islamic one.
Referring to the suicide of a woman in Khanyar, the Mirwaiz said the incident was unfortunate and unacceptable and brings shame to a place known for its Muslim-majority character. “In the past 3 years, 1200 domestic violence cases had been registered with the police and according to another report only 20 percent of the women subjected to domestic violence were reporting the cases to police while the fate of the remaining 80 percent women was unknown,” he said.
The Mirwaiz appealed the women facing the brunt of domestic violence to show strength by informing their local mosque committees and the concerned organizations or rights bodies about what they were being subjected to.
He also appealed clerics, intellectuals and civil society members to get together and collectively fight this evil that is engulfing Kashmir society and asked the concerned organizations to take note of these incidents and provide justice to the victims. He said nothing like a “social necessity” could justify forcing a women to commit suicide of resorting to her killing if she failed to bring with her the demanded dowry.
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