Muslim women demand death for acid attacker

Chennai:

A section of Muslim women on Wednesday demanded death sentence for the man who threw acid on 23-year-old Vinothini, who succumbed to injuries on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters here during the Women’s Conference of Jamat-e-Islami Hind here, the president of Chennai’s Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Women’s wing Fatima said the women support death sentence not only in Vinothini’s case but also against all violent sexual crimes.

The women also expressed concern over such crimes and said that print and electronic media should restrain from showing vulgarity in advertisements and entertainment programmes.

“Films showing obscenity and violence and scenes which hurt the sentiments of religion should be stopped. People who are conscious of the welfare of the public should be appointed in the film censor board and acted upon without any political interference,” Fatima added.

Interestingly, the Muslim women also expressed concern over the decline of sex ration besides urging the government to apply strict laws for safety of women and to stop female infanticide.

Talking about the high rate of dropout among Muslim women in schools and higher educational institutions, Fatima said that women’s groups are trying to create awareness among women about the importance of education. However, she added that the Muslim women in South, especially Tamil Nadu, are more literate than the northern counterparts.

The conference, attended by some 3,000 Muslim women in Chennai also passed a resolution recommending death sentence for violent sexual crimes. It also called for decent dress code for girls, making compulsory moral studies classes in school syllabus besides introduction of self defence courses in schools.

The resolution also urged the government to recognize muslim marriages registered in mosques besides ban on alcohol. “Alcohol is the root cause of all evils and crimes especially against women. It should be banned nationwide and Tasmac shops should be closed,” she added.