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| India-Pakistan |
| MMA bans ultrasound by male technicians |
| 2003-09-19 |
| EFL, the main problem is that there are practically no female doctors in the whole of NWFP, and the Shia ones are busy being killed off. Last week, the clerical government of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal [MMA]âan alliance of six pro-Taliban religious partiesâimposed a new ban in the Northwest Frontier Province [NWFP] that bars all local hospitals from conducting Electro Cardiograph [ECG] and ultrasound of women by male technicians and doctors. âThe latest ban confirms the MMAâs chauvinistic mindset and anti-women credentialsâ, says one woman NGO activist. This is not the first act of its kind. The MMA government had earlier banned public dance, music, kite-flying, cinema houses, bill-boards that displayed female images, beauty parlors, and fashion exhibitions. All these elements, according to MMA clerics, were a source of perversion in society. âTo cleanse the country of such evils, it was essential to outlaw all such thingsâ, one MMA stalwart explained to TFT. But the MMAâs spokesperson, Riaz Durrani, expresses his ignorance about the latest ban. âI am unable to understand why such rumors are being spread. To the best of my knowledge, the MMA has not imposed any such ban. There are so many issues of pressing importance that we have to grapple with. Why would we create troubles for us by imposing such a ban?â he asked TFT. But, hospitals in Peshawar as well as health department confirm that the ban has been slapped and is being rigidly enforced. âWe think that men could derive sexual pleasure from womenâs bodies while conducting ECG or ultrasound. Similarly some women could lure men under the ECG or ultrasound cover. In both cases, perversion could prevail in society. Therefore, to save the supreme values of Islam and the message of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), the MMA has decided to impose the ban. Our decision is in line with the May 8 Resolution of the NWFP Assembly that clearly says that nothing repugnant to Islam will be allowed,â said Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan, provincial general secretary of MMA. âThe stupid policies of the MMA have made our lives a hell. Even a child will not act the way MMA is behaving. It has failed to address the needs of the people and is now hell bent on looking at very issue through the prism of fundamentalist Islam. My wife is pregnant and I have brought her to Rawalpindi all the way from Peshawar and spent almost 10 times more than what it would have cost me in Peshawar if the ban had not been slapped. I have to take leave from my office. My two daughters had to take off from their school. My wife had to take off from her officeâjust for a 15-minute ultrasound! I will distribute sweet meats when I will see the back of the MMA,â said one particularly angry citizen of the NWFP. In Pakistan only 35% of the women receive any antenatal check-up from a doctor. It is estimated that each year in Pakistan about 30,000 women die due to pregnancy related causes. A large number of these women suffer unnecessary risk associated with childbearing, indicating a high burden of disease and death. |
| Posted by:Paul Moloney |
| #4 Thank goodness they still allow women to be stoned to death for enticing men to gang rape them... or else they might be tempted to dally with Satan by flying kites! |
| Posted by: DANEgerus 2003-9-19 5:25:12 PM |
| #3 I know for a fact that when I'm feeling REALLY rebellious and in the mood to defame organized religion, there's nothing more fun than getting all liquored up and flying a kite! (What the hell is wrong with these creeps?!?!?!) |
| Posted by: Flaming Sword 2003-9-19 3:39:28 PM |
| #2 I think kite "tails" were considered too racy |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-9-19 10:58:57 AM |
| #1 This is not the first act of its kind. The MMA government had earlier banned public dance, music, kite-flying, They'll have to pull the string from my cold dead fingers. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-9-19 9:28:35 AM |