Says Dr. Taj Shaukath, the parents of her school children are now pressing for a college. They pay their wards tuition fee for the year in one go. Housewives discipline their intoxicated husbands. Uniforms are not as stained as before. There are fewer users of the school toilet than before.
Muslim elite harbour a few myths about the Muslim society.
But a chat with Dr. Taj dispels many a wishful assumption about the moral fibre of the society. How would the Muslim society look at Muslim housewives who fall victims to flesh trade, appear at the hospitals for termination of illegitimate pregnancies but would not agree for tubectomy to restrict the family size, the very reason for poverty. She has also been witness to the bizarre scene of some Muslim males spending their nights in Mosques away from their wives. But the imams invariably find them new wives rather than restoring the inharmonious marriage. But even more painful is the instance of that Muslim girl from the slums who was pledged to a moneylender from Rajasthan against a debt of mere Rs. 8000.