Ulema leads the way in combating violence against Women & Child abuse
The start of the 16 days of activism campaign for no violence against women and children kicked off on Saturday with ulema taking the lead in educating themselves on the pandemic.
At 5 AM, Members of the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) attended the “Darkness into Light” programme presented by the Council for Human Upliftment and Empowerment (CHUE) at the MJC conference room.
“Media has positioned Islam to be an oppressive religion. Society believes that women are given a lesser status than men,” said the chairperson CHUE, Moulana Zaahir Baron.
Caption: Moulana Zaheer Baron, chairperson of CHUE, and his wife are passionate in educating the community of the impact of Gender-Based Violence. Saturday was the first programme in a series that the foundation has planned.
“We chose the theme for this programme to be “Darkness into Light”. Starting at 5 AM we gave the perception of how some people view Islam. As the sky lightened we created awareness of the rank that Almighty Allah has given women,” Moulana Baron continued.
The Ulema are meant to take the message of what they have learned to the Mimbar and share it with the community.
“As men, we are standing up for the rights of our women and children. We must say enough is enough! We can no longer be silent,” Moulana Baron continued.
MJC President, Shaykh Irafaan Abrahams praised Moulana Baron and CHUE for the programme.
“We place on record our immense gratitude to Moulana Zahir Baron and his organisation for an informative and educational programme on Gender-Based Violence this morning. The presentations by Moulana Ahmad Davids, Sister Zaahida from Hanover Park Health Centre and psychologist, Ustaadha Zulaikha benefitted us all,” said Shaykh Abrahams
Caption: Sister Zaahida from Hanover Park Health Centre said that gender-based violence is prevalent on the Cape Flats and could be attributed to drugs, stress, unemployment and a low self-image. She also mentioned that people live above their means and hence money is also a reason that abuse is rife.
“The captivating, stimulating programme heading from darkness into light was meant for us as leaders to lead our communities from Gender-Based Violence to respect, honour and dignity. Well done Moulana Baron!” Shaykh Abarahams concluded.
Main picture caption: Ustaadha Zulaikha is blind but presented an excellent talk on the impact of gender-based violence in our community. She is at a crossroads of deciding to either do her Masters or community service. May Allah guide her and all other community workers, Ameen.
