Tuesday, November 15 2005 19:24 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: Laying stress on women's empowerment, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, today (Nov 15, 2005) called for an increased focus by all state Wakf Boards on the expansion of literacy, education and imparting of life skills, particularly to Muslim women.

"It is my firm belief that real progress for the Muslim community and particularly for Muslim women can be achieved only through education," she said, inaugurating the National conference of Chairpersons and CEOs of State Wakf Boards here.

Organized under the auspices of Tamil Nadu State Wakf Board, the daylong conference would discuss, issues like strengthening the state wakf boards, improving their functioning, exploring ways and means to secure repossession of encroached wakf properties and deliberate over the need to bring in legislative amendments to the Wakf Act, to enable the Wakf boards to have more powers.

Pointing out that 'hundreds of thousands of acres' of properties had been lost by the Wakfs, either by way of encroachments or in other ways, she said such loss of property of the wakfs was an issue of concern to the Muslim community all over the country.

'A duty is enjoined on the State Government to assist the wakf boards in reclaiming these properties. In Tamil Nadu, a survey of Wakf properties has been undertaken to identify the original extent of these properties, in order that they may be restored to individual institutions,' she said adding that her Government would provide all necessary assistance to protect such properties in the state and render all support to retrieve the encroached Wakf lands.