Archive · 31 Aug 2026
Kerala Leaders Condemn Scholar’s Remarks Restricting Women’s Public Roles
An Islamic scholar named Kanthapuram said women should stay mostly inside their homes and follow purdah.
He said Islam requires this to prevent what he called great destruction.
Kerala Minister Bindu Krishna disagreed with him.
She said India’s Constitution treats men and women as equal.
CPI(M) leader P K Sreemathy also criticised the comments.
She said women have rights such as moving around, speaking, studying and receiving healthcare.
She said nobody can take away these rights by calling a restriction a religious custom.
The debate followed a circular from a Sunni scholars’ council about women sharing public stages with men.
Kanthapuram said religious scholars would continue expressing this view despite criticism.
Minister Bindu Krishna and CPI(M) leader P K Sreemathy criticised Islamic scholar Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar’s comments on women.
Speaking at an Islamic conference in Kochi on Sunday, Kanthapuram said women should remain confined to their homes and observe purdah.
Krishna said India’s Constitution guarantees equality, freedom of expression and gender justice regardless of gender or religion.
Sreemathy said women have fundamental rights to movement, speech, clothing, education and healthcare that cannot be denied on religious or customary grounds.
The remarks followed a Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama circular advising that women should not share stages or public spaces with men.
- Who
- Kerala Women and Child Development Minister Bindu Krishna, CPI(M) leader P K Sreemathy and Islamic scholar Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar.
- What
- Krishna and Sreemathy criticised Kanthapuram’s remarks that women should remain confined to their homes and avoid public appearances.
- When
- Kanthapuram made the remarks on Sunday; Krishna and Sreemathy responded on Monday.
- Where
- The remarks were made at an Islamic conference in Kochi, Kerala, and the criticism was reported from Thiruvananthapuram.
- Why
- The comments came amid controversy over a Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama circular concerning women’s participation in public spaces and on stages with men.
Constitutional Equality and Women’s Rights
Religious Interpretation and Purdah
Women’s participation in public life
Constitutional Equality and Women’s Rights
Krishna and Sreemathy said women are equal citizens and have constitutional rights to movement, speech, education, healthcare and participation in public life.
Religious Interpretation and Purdah
Kanthapuram said bringing women onto public platforms would lead to great destruction and that women should remain confined to their homes.
Religious custom versus constitutional rights
Constitutional Equality and Women’s Rights
Sreemathy said no one may deny fundamental rights by citing a custom or the practice of a religious group.
Religious Interpretation and Purdah
Kanthapuram said these teachings had been given by knowledgeable Islamic scholars, particularly Samastha leaders, for about 100 years.
Whether the view should continue being expressed
Constitutional Equality and Women’s Rights
Sreemathy said women’s-rights advocates could not remain silent when women’s constitutional rights were questioned.
Religious Interpretation and Purdah
Kanthapuram said religious scholars had an obligation to state their interpretation and would continue doing so despite objections.
- Main speaker
- Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar, an Islamic scholar
- Critics
- Minister Bindu Krishna and CPI(M) leader P K Sreemathy
- Central claim
- Kanthapuram said women should live confined within their homes and observe purdah
- Constitutional response
- Krishna and Sreemathy said Indian women have equal constitutional rights
- Earlier circular
- A Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama circular said women should not share stages or public spaces with men
- Religious body officials
- The circular was issued by president E Sulaiman Musliyar and general secretary Kanthapuram
- Examples cited
- Krishna cited President Droupadi Murmu and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as women national leaders