The System of Mushawarat in Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya — Page 177
T he S ystem of M ushawarat in J ama ' at - e -A hmadiyya “This time some important matters have consumed a lot o f time, due to which certain issues had to be left out. One o f these, which our women were so anxious about, was to do with the representation o f w om en. . . Now I defer the other proposals for the future, but I w ill give an interim decision about the matter o f the represen tation o f women. Wherever Lajna Imaillah is established, they should get their members registered and get ap proval from my office. The Agenda o f the Shura w ill then be forwarded to those o f them who are accorded my approval. They w ill write down their opinions on the is sues and send them to the Private Secretary. While making a decision on these matters I w ill keep their opin ions in mind as w ell. Thus the problem o f men and women getting together w ill not arise, and I w ill also find out how useful it is for us to consult women. Their view s w ill be read out in Majlis-e-Shura when a proposal is be ing decided. This is my interim decision in their favour. The rest o f the discussion w ill be held next year. ” [Report Majlis-e-Shura 1930, p. 127) This interim decision continued to be implemented for a number of years. But when Hudur felt that there were some shortcomings in this procedure, he introduced cer tain changes to it in Majlis-e-Shura 1941. He said: “I also want to mention something very important about the representation o f Lajna. Lajna are consulted every year but their recommendations are given no impor tance whatsoever and are not presented in M ajlis-e- Shura. M y proposal is that at least one representative o f Lajna Imaillah should be present in M ajlis-e-Shura next year, and the suggestions which the Private Secretary 177