Tag Archives: Hasina Faras-Kolhapur-Maharashtra

Woman who defied clerics is now mayor of Kolhapur

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , , , , ,

Kolhapur, MAHARASHTRA :

Hasina Faras, 61, has become the first Muslim woman to bag the post of Mayor in Kolhapur
Hasina Faras, 61, has become the first Muslim woman to bag the post of Mayor in Kolhapur

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HIGHLIGHTS

  1. Despite a fatwa issued by a local Muslim cleric body last year warning Muslim women to not contest the municipal elections, 19 women had filed for candidacy.
  2. Five women were elected as corporators including the newly elected mayor of Kolhapur, Hasina Faras
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Kolhapur :

When Hasina Faras wanted to contest the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) polls last year, she was warned by a local body of 40-50 clerics that it was un-Islamic to do so. In fact, the clerics of the Majlis-e-Shoora-Ulama-e-Shahar had then issued a fatwa to all Muslim women not to stand for polls.

However, 19 Muslim women defied the fatwa and contested. Five of them, including Faras, were elected as corporators. A year down the line, 61-year-old Faras has become the first Muslim woman to bag the post of mayor in Kolhapur.

Political twists and turns and challenges are not new to Faras, whose family has been associated with the NCP. The religious challenge had posed a new hurdle, but she said support from her family and members of the community helped her face it.

“The fatwa went against the democratic values of the country. Kolhapur has the great legacy of  Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj. We did not pay attention to the fatwa and contested the elections. Society has changed and we have to accept the changes. Muslim women have entered every sphere of life. I will stand against extrajudicial elements in future too if similar fatwas are issued,” Faras told TOI on Wednesday.

With 50% reservation for women in the local civic bodies, the 81-member KMC House has 42 women corporators belonging to all major political parties. The mayor’s post is to be rotated between NCP and Congress after an agreement was worked out between the two ruling alliance partners last year. However, with the opposition fielding a candidate, polls were necessitated this year.

source: http://www.timeofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Kolhapur News / by Shekhar Paigude / December 15th, 2016