Hijab — Page 193
193 She has also been the ambassador of Burkina Faso in Italy and Australia for 14 years and has represented her country in the UNO as well. She says, attending this Jalsa is a unique event of my life. I did not see a black or white, English or French; instead, every Ahmadi Muslim was seen to be in immense love with their Khalifa, irrespective of colour and race. She goes on to say that what impressed me most is the fact that everyone was attending the Jalsa with a commitment for the sake of Allah. It was astonishing for me to see women seated away from men in a separate section and I assumed that perhaps here also women are mistreated like other Muslims. However, my impression changed after spending some time with these women. I observed that the photographer was a female and so was the camera girl, and women were doing the duty of receiving the guests and distributing food. In fact, every task was being done by women. And the truth is that Purda of a woman does not restrict her freedom. If someone cannot believe this, then they should visit and observe the Ahmadis here. ” (Friday Sermon, September 6, 2013 at Baitul Futuh Mosque, London, Al- Fazl International, September 27, 2013) • A non-Ahmadi female guest attended Jalsa UK for the first time. Huzoor Anwar atba , mentioning about her positive comments regarding Ahmadi women attending Jalsa in Purda, said: “A non-Ahmadi lady, Ouida Nesbeth from Jamaica, attended Jalsa. She is a highly educated woman and is an accountant. She says she was in contact with the Ahmadiyya Jamā‘at for the last 5 years. During this period, she already had a fair connection and introduction of the Jamā‘at, but it has been further enhanced by attending this Jalsa and all the doubts which she had about Islam have been mitigated. The lady really liked that men and women were seated in separate sections (some people object to it, but female guests have liked it). With this arrangement, people’s attention is not diverted.