In a historic political breakthrough, Fathima Thahiliya has emerged as the first woman MLA from the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). She contested from the Perambra constituency of Kozhikode, a region long considered the stronghold of the Left. She won by a margin of 5,087 votes.
The 34-year-old advocate polled 81,429 votes, defeating the senior leader of Communist Party of India (Marxist), TP Ramakrishnan, who secured 76,342 votes.
Her candidacy itself was seen as a bold departure for the IUML, which has historically offered limited opportunities to women in electoral politics.
IUML, a key ally in the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), had fielded two women candidates in the 2026 Assembly elections. In the previous election, the party fielded just one woman candidate, and before that, its woman nominee was 25 years earlier in 1996.
Thahiliya’s political rise is rooted in years of activism. She played a key role in women-centric initiatives such as Haritha, the IUML’s women’s wing. She also serves as a state secretary of the Muslim Youth League.
During the campaign, she drew enthusiastic support, particularly from women and young voters, who viewed her as a change in a traditionally male-dominated political space and the political party.
Meanwhile, her candidacy drew widespread attention also due to the controversies that unfolded during the campaign. She faced large-scale cyber attacks and online abuse, with her social media flooded with sexually explicit remarks. She was also questioned on her capabilities as a hijab-wearing woman.
Talking to TNM during the campaign, she said, “Living as a woman requires effort, and living in a hijab requires extra effort. Being a woman, being a Muslim woman, being a hijab-wearing Muslim woman, I have already crossed the barriers to reach here."
At the same time, she was also one of the women who alleged sexual harassment within IUML in 2021. Following the controversy, she was removed from her post as national vice-president of its student outfit Muslim Students Federation (MSF). This came days after the IUML dissolved the state committee of Haritha, the women’s wing of the MSF.
Her return to the party after the episode had also been questioned.
