Rakib Altaf
SRINAGAR: Calling for a stern action against those involved in Wednesday’s acid attack on a woman, Kashmir’s hardline separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani has demanded a halt to co-education in the valley.
He has also asked women to desist from “immodesty”.
The separatist leader, who heads his faction of the Hurriyat Conference, has accused the authorities of promoting “waywardness” and crime in society.
“They have deprived us of ethical values,” he said in a statement from New Delhi.
The octogenarian leader described co-education as a “fatal poison” and also blamed growing use of cellular phones for the rise in offences against women.
But one main reason for such crimes, according to him, is that women have discarded modesty.
“Islam has conferred great regard on woman whether she is a mother, sister or daughter. But it has identified some boundaries and limitations for her,” he said.
“One main reason that aggression against women is that they are copying the west and have discarded their modesty.”
Women in this Muslim-majority region are not keen about wearing the burqa or a full-body dress prescribed in Islam, but prefer wearing the Salwar-kameez – a long tunic of sorts falling right up to the knees and over loose trousers – which is largely accepted even by conservative families.
However, many say they are not ignoring the fact that girls wearing jeans are gradually becoming a common sight, particularly in the city.
‘Heinous’
The acid attack in Srinagar’s Parraypora area has happened barely a few days after the death of a 23-year-old girl whose gangrape on a moving bus in Delhi shook the entire country.
It left the woman with burns on her face and arms.
Geelani has condemned the incident as “un-Islamic, heinous and wicked”. “There is no place for such a barbaric act in a civilised society,” he said.
The attacker, Reyaz Ahmed Nath, who owns a shop offering repair of car batteries was arrested along with his friend. Why he threw acid at the woman is not clear.
Nearly four years ago, a 17-year-old girl died after she was hit by a car in the same area, known for a mushrooming growth of private tuition facilities. The teenager had allegedly refused to talk to two boys, one of whom later drove the car that killed her.
Geelani has asked private coaching centres to arrange separate tuition for boys and girls to prevent “free mixing” of the sexes.
He has also appealed to parents to keep a watch on their children.
“The people vested with authority could do a lot but they do not share their duty, so the responsibility lies with parents,” he added.
