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Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan said that neither his government nor the Congress party endorses the restrictions on women’s participation in public life advocated by the Grand Mufti of India, Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar.
“We do not agree with his statement at all,” the CM said, adding that Kanthapuram’s stand is not suitable for progressive Kerala.
“It was said that the Quran teaches that there will be great destruction if women enter the public sphere and that women should remain indoors. We do not agree with his statement,” Satheesan told the media on Wednesday, September 2.
“Something that was spoken in the 19th century is being reiterated in the 21st century and we strongly oppose that,” he said, adding, “Women are not meant to be restricted, they are meant to be part of mainstream life in every way. This is the progressive stand we endorse.”
Satheesan also cited characters from Islamic history to argue that Kanthapuram’s statements were a wrong interpretation of Islam.
“The prophet’s first wife Khadeeja was a businesswoman. Ayisha, another one of the prophet’s wives, participated in the Battle of the Camel as the commander-in-chief. The Bilkis mentioned in Islamic history was a queen. When a proposal was made to reduce mehr in the court of Khalifa Umar, a woman opposed it, and the Khalifa decided to pay heed to the woman’s opinion. So we cannot in any way agree to what was said, and neither this government nor our party will stand with such views,” he said.
The controversy stems from a circular issued by the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama led by Kanthapuram, which said that it is “not permissible” for young women to be present among unrelated men at public roads and stages. The circular also directed madrasas and local committees to bar women from public stages.
Later, Kanthapuram defended the circular at a conference in Kochi. He said bringing women onto public platforms would lead to “great destruction” and argued that women should remain confined to their homes.
This received a wave of pushback from Muslim women in Kerala, who challenged his views stating that such restrictions have no place in Kerala’s public life. Several political leaders also criticised the circular and Kanthapuram’s subsequent statements.
Sadiq Ali Thangal, leader of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), an ally of the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) while speaking to the media had played down the stand taken by Kanthapuram. “What he meant was probably that, in the present-day context, women are the ones who are being victimised or targeted the most. That must have been what he intended by his statement. He may have said it while referring to a particular social situation. Perhaps he expressed that opinion with women’s safety in mind,” Sadiq Ali Thangal told the media.
It is in this context that Chief Minister Satheesan issued a statement distancing the government and the Congress party from the stand taken by Samastha and IUML.
