The political debate and changing lives of Muslim women

Should Muslim Women Confine Themselves to Four Walls?

The arguments and divisions over the anti-woman statement made by Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar have sparked a new debate about the lives and freedom of Muslim women in Kerala.

Aboobacker Musliyar, the Indian Grand Mufti, repeated his remarks in Kozhikode and Kochi. He said the Quran requires women to remain modest and confined to their homes and that women should not appear on public platforms. According to him, women were being asked not to appear on public platforms out of respect for them. He maintained that Islam gives women all kinds of respect, but alleged that some people were misusing that freedom.

Speaking at the Hubbu Rasool Conference in Kochi, he also said that many countries that introduced birth control were now experiencing its adverse effects and argued that it was not right to impose practices on particular sections of society against their beliefs.

The remarks were followed by a circular from Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama instructing its affiliated institutions and organisations not to display women in public spaces or on stages among unrelated men. The circular called upon young women not to be brought onto public roads or stages among unrelated men.

The move came against the backdrop of widespread criticism within and outside the organisation over the participation of women and girls in recently held Onam and Nabidinam celebrations.

In a joint statement, Samastha President E Sulaiman Musliyar and General Secretary Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar said religious ceremonies and celebrations conducted in violation of Islamic boundaries should be viewed seriously. They stressed that Islamic celebrations should remain within prescribed limits.

The circular, issued under the heading “Mahallu leadership should remain vigilant”, instructed mahallu office-bearers, mosques, madrasas, other institutions and affiliated organisations to ensure that programmes were conducted according to Islamic standards. It specifically said that displaying women in public places and on stages among unrelated men was inappropriate and religiously impermissible.

It also called for the avoidance of non-Islamic customs and forms of celebration in religious ceremonies and asked mahallu office-bearers and believers to provide a model for future generations.

The immediate backdrop was the participation of Muslim girls in Onam celebrations and Onam games conducted during the festival season in colleges, schools and other educational institutions. Muslim girls participated alongside Hindu and Christian girls and adopted Kerala-style clothing.

The reaction was swift. Prominent political parties rejected Kanthapuram’s statement. The Muslim League and some others, including left-wing leader K T Jaleel, supported or defended his position. The Muslim League said Kanthapuram’s remarks could be regarded as the opinion of a religious scholar.

Other prominent left-wing leaders, including CPM leaders Pinarayi Vijayan and M V Govindan, LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan and CPI leader Binoy Viswam, opposed the statement.

BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, V Muraleedharan, K Surendran, P K Krishnadas and Mahila Morcha state president Navya Haridas also criticised Kanthapuram’s position, describing it as anti-woman and warning that such restrictions could push women towards subordination.

Ex-Muslim leader P K Jamitha Teacher and V P Suhara, president of Nisa, a voluntary organisation working for the advancement of Muslim women, said the controversy had exposed questions about the living conditions and freedoms of Muslim women.

The strongest response, however, came from Muslim girls themselves.

Across colleges and schools from Kasaragod to Parassala, students rejected instructions from religious organisations and clerics opposing participation in Onam celebrations and celebrations of other religions. Hundreds of girls, wearing traditional Kerala kasavu attire, with and without headscarves, participated in Onam songs, games and feasts.

For many observers, this was more than participation in a festival. It represented a generation of Muslim girls asserting their presence in public life.

It was this visible assertion that became central to the controversy and brought a bigger question to limelight: How much freedom should Muslim women have to decide their own lives?

UDF Succumbing to Religious Fundamentalism?

By G.K. Suresh Babu

(In the three series article, G.K. Sureh Babu, a senior journalist from Kerala, analyses the statement made by Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar on the Muslim women, their participation in programs, what happened during Jasmin Revolution. An interesting reading.)