6 hrs ago
CM Satheesan Rejects Kanthapuram's Call to Confine Women
A Muslim scholar named Kanthapuram said women should mostly stay inside their homes.
He said putting women on public platforms could cause serious problems.
V D Satheesan strongly disagreed with him.
Satheesan said women should take part in every part of society.
He said this is part of Kerala's progressive tradition.
Satheesan also said the scholar's view did not correctly reflect Islamic history.
He pointed to Khadija as a businesswoman and Aisha as a military leader.
He also mentioned Queen Bilqis as an example of a woman ruler.
V D Satheesan rejected Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar's suggestion that women should remain confined to their homes.
Satheesan said women should participate in all spheres of life and play a central role in society.
Kanthapuram made his remarks at an Islamic conference in Kochi on Sunday.
Satheesan said the view was inconsistent with Kerala's progressive tradition and misinterpreted Islamic history.
He cited Khadija, Aisha and Queen Bilqis as examples of women holding influential roles in Islamic history.
- Who
- V D Satheesan and Sunni Islamic scholar Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar.
- What
- Satheesan rejected Kanthapuram's remarks that women should remain confined to their homes.
- Where
- Kanthapuram made the remarks at an Islamic conference in Kochi; Satheesan responded at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram.
- When
- Kanthapuram spoke on Sunday; Satheesan responded on Wednesday.
- Why
- Satheesan said the view conflicted with Kerala's progressive tradition and misinterpreted examples from Islamic history.
Women’s Public Participation
Women’s Home Confinement
Role of women in society
Women’s Public Participation
Satheesan said women should participate in all spheres of life and play a central role in society.
Women’s Home Confinement
Kanthapuram said women should remain confined to their homes and that Islam prescribed purdah.
Public platforms
Women’s Public Participation
Satheesan rejected the idea that women’s presence in public life should be restricted.
Women’s Home Confinement
Kanthapuram said bringing women onto public platforms would lead to great destruction.
Interpretation of Islamic history
Women’s Public Participation
Satheesan said Islamic history includes women who were business leaders, military leaders and rulers.
Women’s Home Confinement
Kanthapuram's remarks presented a more restrictive interpretation of women's public roles.
Key facts
- Respondent
- V D Satheesan
- Speaker criticized
- Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar
- Initial remarks
- Kanthapuram said women should remain behind purdah and that bringing them onto public platforms could lead to great destruction.
- Satheesan's position
- Women should participate in all spheres of life and play a central role in society.
- Historical examples cited
- Satheesan referred to Khadija, Aisha and Queen Bilqis.
- Initial remarks location
- An Islamic conference in Kochi
Quotes
V D Satheesan
Kerala Chief Minister who criticized Kanthapuram’s remarks about women.
“There was a woman who conducted business, a woman who played the role of a military leader and a woman who was a queen. All these examples are there in Islamic history.”
deccanchronicle.com
“We have absolutely no agreement with that statement. It is not a position that suits progressive Keralam. We cannot agree with it in any manner.”
deccanchronicle.com
Sources
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