TALOQAN (SW): Members of the Takhar religious scholars' council are set to launch a campaign banning women from swimming in public places or going out for picnic in the province.
Makhdom Wali, the deputy chief for Takhar’s Darul Ulum, told Salam Watandar that women and young girls usually go for picnic to the Chashma area located in Taluqan district, and swim in the river there, which is against the sharia. He said that religious scholars are against the idea of women going on picnic and swimming in the river.
Chamsha is a popular place for residents in Takhar, and on Wednesdays only women are allowed to go there. There have been no reports about women swimming there.
Shaima Alam Soroush, a woman activist in Takhar, said that religious scholars are determined to prevent women from going on picnic. She said that women have the right to go to picnic. “We have far bigger and serious issues that our religious scholars should shift their attention to rather than only focusing on women”, she said.
Meanwhile, Mukhlis Taluqani, spokesman for the Hajj and Pilgrimage Department in the province, confirmed that religious scholars are set to launch a massive campaign against ‘vises’ in the province.
He said that this time, the religious scholars would take the matters in their own hands. He added that consumption of alcohol, men tailoring for women, recording music on mobile phones etc have worried the religious scholars in Takhar.
He said that there was a commission set up for preventing these ‘vices’ in the province but due to the government’s lack of support, it did not pay off.
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