Archive · 1 Sep 2026
IUML Defends Kanthapuram Remarks Amid Kerala Women’s Rights Row
A senior religious scholar in Kerala made comments supporting restrictions on women in public spaces.
He said these restrictions were connected to the purdah system and were meant to prevent harm.
The Indian Union Muslim League defended his comments as a scholarly opinion.
The party also said the scholar was concerned about women’s safety.
Several political leaders disagreed and said women must be free to study, work, and participate in public life.
They argued that religious beliefs should not take away constitutional rights.
The BJP also criticized attempts to keep women out of public spaces.
The disagreement has caused a political debate in Kerala.
IUML state president Panakkad Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal called Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar’s remarks a “scholarly expression.”
Thangal said the cleric’s comments were likely motivated by concerns about women’s safety.
Kanthapuram argued that allowing women onto public platforms could cause destruction and defended the purdah system.
CPI(M) leaders and Kerala ministers said religious views cannot restrict women’s constitutional freedoms and public participation.
The BJP and Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama also entered the dispute, taking sharply different positions on women’s public presence.
- Who
- Sunni scholar Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar, the Indian Union Muslim League, and leaders from the CPI(M), Congress-led UDF, and BJP.
- What
- A political dispute over remarks supporting restrictions on women’s presence in public spaces and the IUML’s defense of those remarks.
- When
- Kanthapuram made the remarks at an Islamic conference on Sunday; the IUML defense was reported on Tuesday.
- Where
- The remarks were made at a conference in Kochi, and the IUML president spoke to media in Malappuram, Kerala.
- Why
- Supporters cited religious authority and women’s safety, while critics said such restrictions violate women’s equality, freedom, and constitutional rights.
Critics of Restrictions
Defenders of the Remarks
Women in public spaces
Critics of Restrictions
CPI(M), government, and BJP figures said women must retain freedom, equality, dignity, and the right to participate publicly.
Defenders of the Remarks
Kanthapuram supported restrictions connected to purdah, while the IUML framed the position as a religiously grounded concern for women’s safety.
Role of religious beliefs
Critics of Restrictions
Critics argued that religious tenets cannot prescribe how women should live or restrict constitutional liberties.
Defenders of the Remarks
IUML president Panakkad Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the cleric’s comments were a scholarly expression that he would not criticize.
Social consequences
Critics of Restrictions
Critics warned that confining women would push society backward and undermine modern educational and social frameworks.
Defenders of the Remarks
Kanthapuram said permitting women onto public platforms could result in “great destruction,” while supporters linked restrictions to protection from a hostile social context.
- IUML position
- State president Panakkad Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal described the remarks as a “scholarly expression.”
- Speaker
- Senior Sunni scholar Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar.
- Contested claim
- Kanthapuram said allowing women onto public platforms would lead to “great destruction” and defended purdah.
- Main criticism
- Critics said religious beliefs cannot be used to limit women’s constitutional liberties or public participation.
- Government response
- Kerala Women and Child Development Minister Bindu Krishna criticized the remarks, while Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala distanced himself and his party from them.
- Other political response
- BJP Kerala president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said girls have the constitutional right to learn, live, and dream freely.
- Religious organization directive
- Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama urged event organizers to restrict women from public spaces and segregate them from unrelated men.