None of the advanced countries has been established without the collaboration of both men and women who make up the manpower in every nation. Most of the monitory and financial institutions in India reported the weak contribution of Indian women in labor market compared to the rest of the countries in the region. This fact bounds the capability of India to catch up with countries like China, South Korea and Japan. This is one evidence to show the importance of women’s role in labor market.

Hence, advocating for segregation under the false pretense that being together is inherently evil and the source of all problems is a regrettably lamentable and regressive stance.

The government faces two choices in dealing with the recent rise of such calls. It can either refrain from making statements about achieving development and aligning with sisterly Gulf countries, diversifying non-oil resources, addressing demographic imbalances, enhancing citizen participation in development, and fully implementing the agendas of regressive parties and political Islam.

This option involves hiding and separating women from men, essentially fostering a segregationist approach. Alternatively, the government must display courage and put an end to such ideas. The populace is weary of decay and tired of backwardness, having lost hope in improving their circumstances.

People are baffled about how, despite our abundant human resources, experiences, and capabilities, we find ourselves in this situation. Members of parliament have taken control of ministers and undersecretaries, as well as the press and media, thrusting themselves into the spotlight.

Khazal Al Majidi, an Iraqi Assyriologist and scholar of ancient history, emphasizes the direct correlation between religious extremism and a nation’s state of advancement or backwardness. Religious parties in general, particularly Islamic ones, possess significant potential to foster backwardness, leading to psychological, social, and economic devastation in any country they have historically governed, with no exceptions.

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By Ahmad alsarraf