The National Commission of Human Rights (NCHR) on Tuesday claimed that the ministry of religious affairs had rejected a candidate for the slot of the Haj director general, allegedly because she was a female.
Expressing “serious concerns”, the NCHR noted that the eligibility criteria for the position of Haj director general did not exclude women.
In a tweet, the commission pointed out that Saima Sabah, a BS-20 officer of Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service, was the highest-scoring candidate for the position by obtaining 71 marks.
It added that there was a precedent of a woman serving as Saudi Arabia’s Haj director general for 19 months.
“Why should Pakistan impose restrictions on the best qualified candidate Saima Sabah just because she is a woman?” it questioned.
The commission further tweeted that while the Saudis were encouraging women to manage Haj pilgrims, the country's religious affairs ministry was “rejecting qualified candidates on basis of gender”.
In December last year, Sabah, had moved the Islamabad High Court, pleading that she had secured first position in a written test for the slot of the Haj director general by obtaining 71 marks out of 100 but was rejected because of her gender.
In her petition, she had maintained that Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Minister Mufti Abdul Shakoor had passed “strange” remarks against her on the basis of her gender during the interview process.
Sabah had also attached a copy of the transcript of that interview with her petition.
She had asked the IHC to direct the religious affairs ministry to declare her the successful candidate and notify her as the Haj director general.
A single member bench of the IHC had dismissed her plea, following which Sabah filed an intra-court appeal.
The IHC reserved its decision on her appeal on Thursday last week.
An audio clip of the interview, allegedly between the minister and Sabah, has surfaced on social media, in which a man believed to be Shakoor is telling a woman, purportedly the candidate, that Haj was completely dependent on its director general and if the appearance as well as personality of the person holding that post was not according to the Sunnah, what message would it give (the Muslim world) about Pakistan’s mission.
To this, the woman can be heard saying that she and her father were both Muslims.
The voice of the man believed to be that of the minister replied that he was talking about her and covering the head with a scarf was compulsory for a woman in Islam.
The woman replied that she agreed with him but would use a dupatta to cover her head when necessary.
The man then asked the woman if she comprehended the importance of hijab and the consequences of her choice of not wearing one.
“What impression would it give to countries around the world?” he asked.
Later, in a statement issued on his Twitter account, the minister raised questions about the authenticity of the audio clip.
He claimed that he could not even think of committing gender discrimination while occupying a constitutional office.
He added that informal talk after the interview was edited and presented in the audio clip.
Shakoor said he respected Sabah despite her “baseless allegations”.
The minister added that he would accept whatever the court decided, and asked the IHC to reach a verdict on the issue soon.
Shakoor claimed that Sabah had tried to use political influence for her appointment before levelling her allegations.
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