Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
Muslim women in Kerala are pushing back against the Grand Mufti of India, Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar, after his remarks advocating restrictions on women’s participation in public life sparked widespread criticism on social media. Through videos and posts, women have challenged his views stating that such restrictions have no place in Kerala’s public life.
The controversy began after the Kanthapuram-led faction of Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama recently issued a circular directing madrasas and local committees to bar women from public stages and prevent them from mixing with unrelated men at religious events.
Defending the circular at a conference in Kochi, Kanthapuram said bringing women onto public platforms would lead to “great destruction” and argued that women should remain confined to their homes.
His remarks triggered a wave of criticism, particularly from Muslim women and content creators on social media.
Content creator Raseena Noushad criticised the idea that women’s role should be restricted to the home. “They believe women should stay at home, deliver babies, and cook,” she said.
Turning the argument around, she asked men who oppose women entering public spaces to consider staying at home themselves. “To those who think women shouldn't go out, why don't you go to the Taliban? Why are you trying to make Kerala like the Taliban?” she asked.
Another content creator, Nadhiya Khadar, questioned whether those advocating that women stay at home were prepared to financially support them.
She pointed out the economic dependence such restrictions could create for women, particularly those from ordinary families. “If you are making statements based on religion, as a religious leader, you should find a solution for that,” she said.
Nadhiya pointed out that women may need an income even for basic personal and family needs. “If a woman wants to buy a burkha for her mother, she needs to ask her husband for money. What if he refuses to give her any? I am not talking about women in privileged families like yours, but rather the average Muslim family in Kerala,” she said.
Writer and content creator Shimna Zeenath also criticised the remarks, arguing that they were contrary to what she sees as Islam’s historical engagement with women.
“It is hard to understand what message the religious clergy is sending by keeping women away from all cultural and political discourse, truncating their thoughts and portraying them as mere reproductive tools,” she wrote on Facebook.
She argued that such restrictions were “the exact opposite of the enlightenment that Islam ignited during the time of the Prophet.”
Filmmaker Aisha Sultana responded with a historical question of her own: “Who led the Battle of Jamal?”
The Battle of Jamal, fought in 656 CE, involved several prominent figures from the early Islamic period, including Aisha bint Abu Bakr, the Prophet Muhammad’s widow, who was among the central figures in the conflict.
The backlash has not been confined to social media. Several political leaders in Kerala have also criticised Kanthapuram’s remarks and described them as anti-woman.