Women are barred from participating in the door-to-door election campaign in Kohistan by local clerics. A 30-member group of clerics mostly from Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (Faz) has issued a fatwa barring women from all the political parties in Kohistan from taking part in door-to-door campaigns.
Speaking at a gathering held at the JUI-F central office in Kamila town, Kohistan, Mufti Gul Shahzada of Kandia expressed that the practice of taking women from door to door to seek votes goes against Islamic principles and Shariah.
“Taking women door-to-door for seeking votes is against the Islamic injunctions and Shariah,” said Mufti Shahzada in a gathering that was attended by 400 clerics from different parts of the district.
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These clerics agreed and endorsed all the six decrees announced by Mufti Shahzada.
In the upcoming February 8 general elections, two women candidates supported by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Tehmina Faheem from PK-31 Kohistan-I and former legislator Momina Basit, along with independent candidate Sanaya Sabeel from PK-33 Kolai-Palas, are competing for seats in the district for the first time in its history.
Mufti Shahzada, addressing the gathering, emphasized that all issued decrees were formulated considering the current circumstances. He noted that these decrees were grounded in Islamic principles, drawing references from various religious texts.
“If anybody votes against Islamic ideology, it means he is testifying to an untrue and biased statement, which is a grave sin and also against Islamic Shariah,” he added.
“Those casting votes on the linguistic, regional, and clan grounds are also negating Islamic teachings and no such exercise should be carried out in this district,” he further added.
The female candidates have abstained from commenting on the issue. They say they will comment only after consultation with the party.
Meanwhile, on Friday JUI-F leader Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman announced no seat adjustment for the 8th February elections.