Women should be trained well to guide Sharia Board
The aspiration of Bahraini women to helm the Sharia Advisory Boards of Islamic Banks has never been realised not due to gender discrimination, but because they lacked the specialised knowledge and expertise required, it has been revealed.
At a round-table conference on “Women on Sharia Boards of Islamic Banks and other Financial Institutions,” organised yesterday by the Supreme Council for Women (SCW) in association with the Bahrain Association of Banks, at the SCW headquarters, the matter was discussed in detail. SCW Secretary-General Hala Al Ansari also spoke on the occasion.
Speaking to DT News, Director of National Strategy for the Advancement of Bahraini Women Dr Duniya Ahmed Abdulla said the main objective of the conference was to know the position of women in Sharia Boards and other institutions, but unfortunately there were no woman representatives anywhere.
This is not the situation in Bahrain alone but worldwide. The main reason for the women to be behind in this field is that they lack the proper education and training in this field, she said.
“We are trying to highlight this subject to identify the obstacles in the path and to facilitate women to be part of the Sharia Board,” says Dr. Duniya.
Some of the challenges raised during the session were the fear and low confidence on the part of women. “This was a field meant for men for long. The more we work the more the chances of Bahraini women entering this field,” she said.
Banking Supervision Executive Director Khalid Hamad said that there
was no dearth in support for the women. If women have the required interest and qualification, they will get ample support from government and law, as there was no discrimination against them.
“We discussed how to empower women to take the role of Sharia Scholar or Sharia Reviewer or even as a Board Member in the financial sector. There were a lot of thoughts, ideas and solutions on the subject, but my message to women is that they themselves need to take the initiative and express interest. Or else, she won’t get enough support,” he said.
Chief Executive Officer Ithmaar Bank Ahmed A Rahim told DT News that one of the most important points they discussed in the meeting was how a woman can reach to the Sharia Supervisory Board.
He said that women needed to opt for the programme that was started in the University of Bahrain a few years ago that will provide training to a number of graduates at the BIBF, thus enabling some of them to work on the Sharia Review of Islamic Banks. Through this job and through interaction with the Sharia advisory board, they will get a lot of knowledge and will be able to reach the Sharia Board.
Photo Caption: SCW Secretary-General Hala Al Ansari speaks at the round-table conference
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