Since she was little Ayesha always wanted to break stereotypes and open new doors that empower women in her country. However, her passion to pursue this profession comes with certain obstacles that the 39-year-old believes are wrong and forced.
To overcome them, she started a legal battle that began almost 6 years ago and is currently underway and is fighting to earn the right of being Kazi in her locality.
The rules to apply clearly indicate that a candidate must at least have completed the Alim exams from a recognized university or madrasa registered with the Madrasa Board and must be between 21-40 years of age. As a native of Fulbari, taking a leap of faith Ayesha too applied but her application was turned down only because she is a woman.
Ayesha stated that she is not satisfied with the court’s ruling because it isn’t fair and hints at gender discrimination whereas the state advocates equal opportunities for both men and women in all spheres of life so why not here.
She said, “I think a woman is being deprived of her rights after being given a wrong explanation of the matter.” And added that she plans to continue to stand her ground and emerge victorious from this incident.
The bench presiding over the case argued that certain Muslim families owing to less space opt to carry out marriage rituals in a mosque and it should be kept under consideration that some physical conditions prohibit women from entering into a mosque.
Ayesha replied that this is not a strong enough excuse since it is something beyond human control and bestowed upon them by the Creator.
She thinks that there are no religious barriers to a woman becoming a registrar as the job mainly involves registering a marriage and asking the relevant parties to sign the wedding certificate and not conducting the process of marriage.
She said that it is not an obligation for registration to be done at a mosque only and is hence not a valid reason for disqualification.
She raised the question that if women are making progress in all other fields like science and technology, politics, medicine, etc., and are giving a tough competition to men then why must they be held back and not allowed to grow religiously as well.
Ayesha believes that women deserve to be given this right and will not stop until they do.