Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and National Conference supremo Farooq Abdullah has yet again displayed his hypocrisy regarding his views on the issue of women empowerment in the country.
Speaking at the Republic Summit 2018, Farooq Abdullah went on to put himself in a tough spot after he criticised men for not allowing women to exercise their power by ignoring the fact that he himself had opposed any interferences by the union government to end heinous practice of Triple Talaq.
Responding to the question of women reservation in the Parliament and state legislatures, Farooq Abdullah said that there was a need for women representation in the legislatures and demanded 50 per cent reservation for women in elected bodies. However, he went on to say that it is men who do not want to give women power despite openly saying so.
“The tragedy is how many men we see saying they want women to have the power but in their heart-of-hearts, they don’t want to give it,” said Abdullah.
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Interestingly, Farooq Abdullah was one of those politicians who had objected to any interference by the union government regarding the issue of cruel practices of ‘triple talaq’ and ‘nikah halala’. Abdullah had said that Muslims across India will not tolerate any “interference” with Muslim Personal Laws and had opined that the religious panel like AIMPLB has the veto to look into the issues concerning the Sharia law.
When Arnab Goswami went on to ask him about his stand on Triple Talaq, moments after he had spoken about women empowerment, he went on to say that he is a Muslim and he will never go against the diktats of Muslim bodies. He said that Triple Talaq is a personal matter of Muslims and the government should not interfere.
With his dubious stand on the critical issue of women empowerment, Farooq Abdullah has exposed himself. Farooq Abdullah, who has opposed the union government’s decision to end practices of Triple Talaq cannot claim any moral high ground to push for equal representation for women in the elected bodies.