Women Cannot Become Jamaat Chief: Dr. Shafiqur Rahman

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman has said that women will never be able to become the head of his party. He made the remarks in an interview with Qatar-based international news outlet Al Jazeera.The interview was conducted by Al Jazeera journalist Srinivasan Jain. During the discussion, the journalist asked how many female candidates Jamaat would field in the upcoming 13th national parliamentary election. In response, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman said the number was zero.He added that other political parties in Bangladesh have also nominated very few women candidates and argued that the issue is linked to the country’s social culture. However, he said Jamaat is preparing for the future and that such changes cannot happen overnight. He also claimed that the party does not disrespect women.When asked why Jamaat did not nominate even a single woman candidate while other parties nominated a few, the Jamaat Ameer said he had already explained the matter and repeated that preparation is ongoing.During the interview, the journalist further asked whether women could ever become the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami. Dr. Shafiqur Rahman replied that it was not possible. He said Allah created men and women differently and assigned different responsibilities. According to him, men cannot carry children or breastfeed them, which he described as a divine gift, and humans cannot change what Allah has created.The journalist then pointed out that Bangladesh has had female prime ministers for the last three decades and asked whether they had failed to run the country. In response, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman said Jamaat does not disrespect them and has no objection to their leadership.The journalist followed up by asking why women, who can manage families and raise children, cannot become the head of Jamaat. Dr. Shafiqur Rahman replied that there are certain responsibilities where women cannot perform due to limitations, adding that these limitations are widely known.When the journalist said he did not clearly understand those limitations, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman asked whether a man could perform the responsibilities of a mother after childbirth. He stated that Allah knows best and has assigned roles accordingly. Towards the end of the interview, the issue of female prime ministers was raised again. Dr. Shafiqur Rahman reiterated that Jamaat does not disrespect women leaders but claimed that most developed countries do not consider women suitable for such positions and said the issue is related to physical realities.