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A senior priest of the Mar Thoma Church has sparked a controversy by suggesting that HIV tests should be made mandatory before marriages are solemnised in their church. In the same speech, Mar Thoma Church Clergy Trustee Rev. Dr K Thomas advised parents to ensure that their daughters’ bodies had not been “abused” before marriage, appearing to refer to sexual intercourse.
The remarks were made at a Mar Thoma gathering in Thiruvananthapuram on August 30.
Thomas began his speech by recounting the case of a 17-year-old girl who was in a romantic relationship and whose family had approached him for counselling. He then spoke about the issue in the context of his counselling experience.
“The Karnataka government is now conducting HIV tests on all the campuses there. Let me say this, I am someone who believes that all marriages that take place in the Mar Thoma Church should be conducted only after the individuals have undergone such tests,” he said.
However, the claim that Karnataka is conducting HIV tests on all college campuses is incorrect. The Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS) clarified in the last week of July that HIV testing had not been made mandatory for college students. The clarification came after reports claimed that 7,000 students in the state had tested positive for HIV.
Thomas later addressed parents of girls and said they should be able to ensure that their daughters had not been “abused” before marriage.
“Parents, please don't misunderstand me. I am only reminding you of a word of instruction. Do you know what the responsibility of a father and mother is? When a 27-year-old girl is brought into the church as a bride, the father and mother should be able to assure that her body has not been abused,” he said.
The speech drew criticism after Malayalam news channels aired excerpts, with several people describing his remarks as regressive and patriarchal.
Speaking to Asianet News, Thomas defended his remarks and said he was addressing parents in the context of the situation in Karnataka.
“There were around a thousand parents in front of me. They need to have this awareness because we are facing such a major challenge. I wasn't addressing the youth directly. I was speaking in the context of Karnataka,” he said.
