Press Release
It is Bangladesh's Capitalist Secular System Which is the Greatest Obstacle to Women's Dignified Participation in Society, and NOT the Burqa! 

 On the 29^th January 2015, Bangladesh's Social Welfare Minister, Mohsin Ali, speaking as the chief guest at the opening ceremony of a girl's hostel in Moulovibazar, Sylhet, said, "No one can be a college student wearing the burka...Today, Europe looks at those who wear the burqa with disgust and thinks them to be Islamic terrorists....Tomorrow will let us taste where we have brought Islam to in society today". The Social Welfare Minister's hateful and vile remarks against the niqab is simply the latest demonstration of the Bangladesh government's intense contempt of Islam and its relentless agenda to drive Islam from Bangladesh. It comes just three months after the odious remarks about Hajj and the Prophet (saw) uttered by Abdul Latif Siddiqi, an ex-minister of the ruling Awami League. In their desperate attempts to chase the heels and implement the agendas of their imperialist masters, these ministers intentionally give out these outrageous remarks against Islam one after another. They seek to shamelessly imitate the insulting words, deluded beliefs, and oppressive acts of Western secular governments against Islam and Muslims. In reality, their anti-Islamic expressions and deeds are a declaration of war against the Protector, the Glorified and Exalted and His Messenger (saw).

It is not the burqa which is the obstacle to women pursuing a successful education or participating in society in a productive, dignified manner. Rather it is the capitalist secular system that governs countries such as Bangladesh, which acts as the greatest impediment to women securing their educational aspirations and having an active public life. It is the secular system for example that has sanctioned prostitution in Bangladesh and allowed its companies and media to sexualise women and turn them into mere objects for male gratification. This has devalued their status and caused the epidemic level of sexual harassment affecting girls and women in universities, workplaces, and the streets, leading many to be too scared to go to school or work. It is the capitalist system that has caused the mass poverty in the state and the totally inept condition of its public education system that is funded so poorly and that has deprived so many girls of a good education. And it is the brutal secular rule of Hasina that has generated an environment of violence and instability within Bangladesh, where women who speak out against her oppression or who call for an Islamic alternative to the defunct secular system are terrorised and face persecution and imprisonment by the authorities.

Furthermore, the Welfare Minister clearly venerates and is calling Muslim women to emulate secular European countries such as France and Belgium which have banned the niqab, and hence criminalised Muslim women simply for their Islamic dress, and denied them education and employment. Is this really the mark of a system that champions the rights and dignity of women? Incidentally, these are the same states that are grappling with their own high levels of rape, violence, discrimination and general sexist culture against women.

The truth is, there will be no dignified future for the women in Bangladesh or any part of the Muslim world if they continue to be governed by the flawed secular system or any other man-made form of governance. Only the Khilafah "Caliphate" Rashidah State upon the method of the Prophethood can provide the dignified, prosperous life that they dream of where their educational aspirations will be secured and where they will be able to participate fully within the society, within a safe and respectful environment. It is this state that will not allow any action that degrades women, ensuring that they can pursue their studies or engage in employment free from harassment. It is this state that will encourage women to be politically active in accounting their rulers and calling for justice. It is this state that will enjoy a sound Islamic economic system that will provide sufficient funds to build a first-class education system for its women as it did in the past. But importantly, it will be this state that will enable Muslim women to enjoy all these rights while also abiding fully by their Islamic dress according to the laws of the Shariah.

Women's Section
in The Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir