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Keralam Minister for Local Self-Government and senior Indian National Muslim League (IUML) leader KM Shaji has said Muslim organisations need to re-examine their approach towards guiding Muslim girls, pointing to what he described as a significant shift in their intellectual and political engagement.
He made the remarks during a speech at the CH Mohammed Koya National Seminar held at the University of Calicut on September 27. CH Muhammed Koya was a social reformer and the 10th Chief Minister of Keralam.
“Among Muslim girls, there has been a kind of significant change. I don't know whether we can call it progress, but there has been a jump. My concern is whether the community has truly understood how far these girls have come and how much they have developed over the years,” he said.
Shaji questioned whether Muslim organisations were making enough efforts to guide the girls’ growth, address their needs, and positively shape their development. “Can anyone point to a time or place where we have clearly articulated how we should guide our girls?” he asked.
He also claimed that Muslim girls constitute a significant proportion of the followers of atheist pages on social media. “If you look at some of the most popular atheist pages in Kerala, you will find that a large proportion of their followers are Muslim girls,” he added.
“I have a feeling that there is a lot of thinking and reflection happening among Muslim girls. What kind of effort are we, as a community, making to take them forward? There are still many organisations among us that remain rigidly stuck in the same old ways, without making any meaningful transformation,” he said. He also added that CH Mohammed Koya had left the community with the responsibility of addressing such questions.
