Women want their own mosque

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Dec. 9: Hundreds of Muslim women celebrated Id and offered prayers on a plot of land in Hyderpur in Ward No. 16 in English Bazaar Municipality.

Women under the banner of Muslim Mahila Jana Kalyan Committee (MMJKC) also distributed leaflets among the locals demanding protection of the land for building a mosque for Muslim women.

It may be noted that a few days ago, MMJKC tried to meet the district magistrate and police officers seeking permission to use a plot of land in Hyderpur for offering Id prayers after they were prevented by the care taker of the land from doing so. But they organised the prayer meet here despite objections.

Since the last few years a group of Muslim women have been celebrating Id twice a year and organising prayer meets at this plot of land that belongs to the Wakf estate. However, the minority development department had identified the land for setting up a district headquarters for minority development other than a library, community hall, child development centre and others with the financial assistance from the state government.

The MMJKC had been protesting against the move and urged the authorities to build a mosque for women on the plot of land owned by Hazian Bibi Jawnab Wakf Estate (HBNWE).

The committee members of HBNWE had, however, showed interest in the plan of the minority development minister, Mr Abdus Sattar, for the constructing a multipurpose building for the minority community. The vice-president of the committee for Hazian Bibi Jawnab Wakf Estate, Mr Nazir Hossian, told reporters: “The place is not suitable for building a mosque.”

The English Bazaar Municipality had also earmarked the land for the construction of a building for minority development in its draft development plan following a government order to allot at least 15 per cent of the total budget for minority development in a year. Secretary of MMJKC Mrs Samim Ara Begam said: “We would always protest against the construction of a building with financial help from minority development on a plot of land where we have been offering prayers. We want to construct a mosque here for women.”

Id was celebrated across the district today including Sujapur, a Muslim dominated area, where lakhs of people assembled to offer prayers today.