By Dirgha Raj Prasai : Benazir Bhutto was a Muslim woman; she became the Prime Minister of Pakistan, 1988, 1993.
In Israel Jewish woman- Golda Meir, 1969 became the Prime Minister. Catholic woman Margaret Thatcher became the Prime Minister of Britain 1979. Victoria, Elizabeth 1st and 2nd became the queen of England. In Srilanka Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the first Prime Minister, 1960, 1970, 1994
and President- Kumaratunga Chandrika. 1994, In India, Indira Gandhi became an influential woman Prime Minister 1966, 1980 and Sonia Gandhi became the heroine of whole of Indian Congress’s regime. Now Pratibha Patel 2007 has become the president of India. In Bangladesh Zia-Khaleda 1991, 2001 and Sheikh Hasina became PM 1996 and now president, In Finland- President- H. Tarija and two times elected woman Prime Minister Kavinivi. In Kirgistan- Roja Aatunwaryamale became the first woman prime minister. Now- in Australia, Julia Gillard became the first woman prime minister who was just deputy prime minister under the previous Labour prime minister.
Similarly, the present and former women Prime ministers are president of Argentina-Isabel Peron,-1974, Elisabeth Domitien, prime minister of Central African Republic – 1975, Maria da Lourdes Pintasilgo, prime minister of Portugal – 1979, Lidia Gueiler Tejada, prime minister of Bolivia – 1979, Dame Eugenia Charles, prime minister of Dominica – 1980, Vigdis Finnbogadottir, president of Iceland – 1980, Gro Harlem Brundtland, prime minister of Norway – 1981, 1986, 1990,Milka Planinc, federal prime minister of Yugoslavia – 1982, Agatha Barbara, president of Malta – 1982,Maria Liberia-Peters, prime minister of Netherlands Antilles – 1984, 1988, Carmen Pereira, acting president of Guinea Bissau – 1984, Corazon Aquino, president of Philippines – 1986, Kazimiera Danuta Prunskiene, prime minister of Lithuania – 1990, Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, prime minister of Nicaragua – 1990, Mary Robinson, president of Ireland – 1990, Ertha Pascal Trouillot, interim president of Haiti – 1990, Sabine Bergmann-Pohl, president of German Democratic Republic – 1990, Edith Cresson, prime minister of France – 1991, Hanna Suchocka, prime minister of Poland – 1992, Kim Campbell, prime minister of Canada – 1993, Agathe Uwilingiyimana, prime minister of Rwanda – 1993, Susanne Camelia-Romer, prime minister of Netherlands Antilles – 1993, 1998, Tansu Ciller, prime minister of Turkey – 1993, Reneta Indzhova, interim prime minister of Bulgaria – 1994, Claudette Werleigh, prime minister of Haiti – 1995, Mary McAleese, president of Ireland – 1997, Pamela Gordon, premier of Bermuda – 1997, Janet Jagan, prime minister of Guyana – 1997, Jenny Shipley, prime minister of New Zealand – 1997, Ruth Dreifuss, president of Switzerland – 1999, Jennifer M. Smith, prime minister of Bermuda – 1998, Nyam-Osoriyn Tuyaa, acting prime minister of Mongolia – 1999, Helen Clark, prime minister of New Zealand – 1999, Mireya Moscoso, president of Panama – 1999, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, president of Latvia – 1999, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, president of the Philippines – 2001, Mame Madior Boye, prime minister of Senegal – 2001, Megawati Sukarnoputri, president of Indonesia – 2001, Maria das Neves, Prime Minster of Sao Tome and Principe – 2002, Beatriz Merino, prime minister of Peru – 2003, Luisa Diogo, prime minister of Mozambique – 2004, Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany – 2005, Yulia Tymoshenko, prime minister of Ukraine – 2005, Michelle Bachelet, president of Chile – 2006, Micheline Calmy-Rey, president of Switzerland – 2006, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, president of Liberia – 2006, Han Myung-sook, prime minister of South Korea – 2006, Portia Simpson Miller, prime minister of Jamaica – 2006, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, president of Argentina – 2007, Borjana Kristo, president of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzogovina – 2007, Zinaida Greceanii – prime minister of Moldova, 2008, Dalia Grybauskaite – president of Lithuania, 2009, Laura Chinchilla – president of Costa Rica, 2010, Kamla Persad Bissessar – prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, 2010. And now- Hillary Clinton is the influential Foreign Secretary of United States.
Such influential Muslim, Christian and non- Muslim and Christian women are in front positions of many nations of the globe. But none of the women contemplated on social problems faced by their lot. Women are raped, murdered, robbed but they never find justice. They are forced to opt for carnal profession in many places. Regardless of the degree of suffering handed down to women at the hands of men, the men are never blamed. The women neglected by the men are equal to the status of non-citizen. The nature has itself discriminated in between woman and man. The humanity’s wisdom in the world society cannot be created unless the inequality existing between the women and men is neutralized.
The situation is worse with the Muslim woman society in the world as compared to others. The Muslim women are surrounded by suffering since their birth. Salman Rusti and Bangladesh’s Tasalima Nasari have highlighted the lopsided behavior and trends in the Muslim society. They have raised voices on basis of equal justice. Bangladesh’s Tasalima Nasarin are endeavoring to break the unequal radical religious tradition prevalent in Muslim women’s society. The shape and tradition of the Muslmi society can be reformed by the Muslim regime. Muslim women are suffering under male dominance and mantle (black Burkha). They have become a toy of the men. Where are human rights activists? Have they fought for liberation of the Muslim women and other women of the world over from such practices of injustice and neglect? Where is United Nations?
Similarly, in Nepal the Badi women are also stateless. We can make effort for arranging residents from Badi women and provide them prompt management of citizenship and guarantee reservation. The plight of Badi women are like that of animals in Nepal. There is compulsion for flesh trade. Although women lawyers, teachers and those literate ones holding positions in political parties sister organizations have been shouting at the top of their voices. But they have never said a word in the problems faced by Muslim and Badi women. The laws of these nations hold no relevance to Badi and Muslim women. The nation has not ability to free Badi women from compulsion of fresh trade. This is the reason the Badi women had to resort to demonstration in nude form outside the entrance of the Singha Durbar secretariat.
Bangladeshi Dr. Tasalima Nasarin has put her life in danger to rebel. There is a bounty fixed on her head. Nasarin, who has a degree on medical science, is a famous author of Bangladesh. She writes, “There was no difference perceived in the Greek women of 5th century BC and slave. Even Plato did not perceive this. In the fifth edition of Republic he says, ‘The duty of women is to remain house wife and comply by husband’s order.'” The marriage of girls is to a limit like a letter. A girl accepts for her life without knowing if her husband is of good character or a drunkard, where he will beat her, where he can produce children. If a girl’s husband is worthless money-minded, errant, conservative, she would want to be free of such hellish world. However, even Christian religion failed to remove the plight of women. This religion also made them subject to male supremacy. Florence Nightingale had said, “Jesus Christ did not talk of the right of the women. Even Ram committed sin against Sita. Sita had to prove her purity and virginity by giving an examination of fire. No men gave her shelter. She had to demand shelter from the Earth. The women’s insolence, shameless ruin has been expressed numerous times in Hindu epics of Ramayan and Mahabharat.
Crowd of people thronged with want of marriage after being influence of the revolutionary life of Nasarin. But no one’s influence touched her. A person Rahim wrote a letter wanting to marry Tasalim. Nasarin gave him a precondition, “You have to cut your beard, give evidence that you do not have HIV/AIDS and you have to promise to clean dishes, wipe floors.” It is said that she attacked the radical Mulla in this fashion. Have any woman human rights activists ever spoken against the inhumane culture-that a Muslim wife is subjected to divorce when her husband repeats The word divorce three times in her presence-in regard to a simple dispute?
However, Tasalima Nasarin has rebelled for women all over the world. Nasarin writes, “It is mentioned in Muslim religious script Kuran that, ‘Speak the truth even if that is your opposition. There is popular rule in Islam to allow for marrying four times. Great man Hajarat Muhammad had married for the fourteenth time. Hajarat Muhammad had said, “Husband can leave wife for four reasons.” (1) If wife declines from hearing when husband beckons her to come with him after beautification, (2) If she declines from accepting husband’s call to lay with him, (3) If she abandons female duty and reading of doxology,(4) and if she leaves to visit another person’s home without her husband’s consent. The Muslim society needs to abolish such inhumane order without keeping any prejudice.
Tahasila Nasarin writes in regard to the behavior between male and female in religious scripts of the world. She writes, “There should be a ban on Mahabharat, Ramayan, and Bible like on Hadis Kuran if there is to be no defense. There was a commotion in regard to the Mosque of Ayodhya. They had beaten feeble Hindus named ‘foreigners’ then. They turned the temple that lied near by house into soil. I brought a piece of the temple. Seeing that, my mother was astounded. My mother could not distinguish whether the piece was of Mosque or a temple. If religious shrines destroys the love and tradition of individuals then such temples, mosques and pagodas should be destroyed so as its existence perishes. Man is of more importance than brick and stones.” There is a lot of humanity in Nasarin.
The books of Tasalima Nasarin like trained revolutionary woman are banned. There is a warrant on her name in Bangladesh. When she wanted to become a citizen of Western Bengal of India, it went in vain as India did not show any interest in that regard. Likewise, the book of ‘Satanic Verses’ written by Salman Rusti made them insecure. Where are the human rights activists of the world in such a situation? In this world of 21st century men cannot remain prisoner due to any religious reason. Muslims love Muslim religion. The Muslim religious clerks ought to take the efforts undertaken by Nasarin to reform the defects in positive way.
It is a big violation of human rights to attempt to keep the Muslim wives in the status of slave in such a modern world. May everyone’s eyes open for the liberation of Muslim women as well as the world depressed women?
