In this context, Samira al-Mousawi, a member of parliament for the State of Law Coalition, told Al-Monitor, “The issue of unveiled women in religious cities is brought up from time to time in the governorate. It is a controversial issue in terms of different opinions. I believe there should be a law banning unveiled women or imposing the veil before entering the city.”
The National Coalition, on the other hand, defended Damlouji, whose visit raised much controversy, and described the position of the head of Karbala’s local government to be “politically bankrupt,” seeking to make political gains away from professional ethics, according to Khadhim al-Shammari, the head of the coalition.
During her visit to Karbala, Damlouji did not visit the religious shrines. However, the position of the local government appears to be premeditated, in light of talks about setting forth other legislation, namely announcing the World Day of Chastity to promote the Islamic veil. Many parties are pushing in this direction.
In addition, Shiite clerics in Najaf have been campaigning to spread awareness about the need to wear the veil according to Sharia teachings. As part of the campaigns, veiling guidelines were distributed among girls in intermediate and secondary schools. A contest on the subject was organized with many prizes up for grabs, including a trip to the city of Qom in Iran.
Should the call to prevent unveiled women from entering the city of Karbala turn into an applicable law, members of parliament will have the right to interrogate the head of the provincial council and the governor of Karbala to identify the reasons behind this law, which could lead to its abolition, on the ground that not all Islamic teaching ought to be imposed on all community components.
In a country with multiple religions, sects and ethnicities, no specific religious doctrine or practice should be imposed across the social fabric, even if this was limited to certain areas only.
Comments are closed.