Archive · 31 Aug 2026
Grand Mufti’s Women-at-Home Remarks Trigger Sharp India Debate
A religious leader said women should mostly stay at home and avoid public life.
He said this would protect their dignity and safety.
He also defended purdah and said the Quran supports this idea.
To explain himself, he compared women to a valuable gold necklace kept safely in a box.
Many people objected because women are human beings, not objects.
Dr Shalini Ali said women should be free to study, work and make their own choices.
The Muslim Rashtriya Manch said staying home can be a woman’s choice, but it should never be forced.
The disagreement is about whether protection means limiting women or respecting their freedom.
Kerala Grand Mufti Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad said women should remain at home and avoid public life.
The Grand Mufti said his position was based on protection, dignity and purdah, and attributed it to the Quran.
He compared women’s protection to securing a gold necklace, an analogy that drew widespread criticism.
Muslim Rashtriya Manch leader Dr Shalini Ali called the remarks regressive and said women should control their own lives.
The organisation said women may choose domestic life, public careers or other roles without others deciding for them.
- Who
- Kerala Grand Mufti Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad and Muslim Rashtriya Manch leader Dr Shalini Ali.
- What
- A debate over remarks that women should remain at home and avoid public life.
- When
- The controversy began after the Grand Mufti made the remarks during a speech; no specific date is provided.
- Where
- India, involving remarks by the Kerala Grand Mufti and a response from the Muslim Rashtriya Manch.
- Why
- The Grand Mufti argued that home-based restrictions and purdah protect women’s dignity and security, while Dr Ali and the organisation said women should decide their own lives.
Women’s Autonomy and Public Participation
Protection, Dignity and Purdah
Whether women should stay home
Women’s Autonomy and Public Participation
Dr Shalini Ali and the Muslim Rashtriya Manch said women must be free to study, work, join public life and choose their own paths.
Protection, Dignity and Purdah
Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad said women should remain within their homes and avoid public life to preserve their dignity and security.
Meaning of protection
Women’s Autonomy and Public Participation
Critics said restricting women in the name of protection undermines their rights and treats them like possessions.
Protection, Dignity and Purdah
The Grand Mufti said restrictions and purdah are intended to safeguard women and prevent harmful consequences, not demean them.
Who should decide a woman’s life
Women’s Autonomy and Public Participation
The Muslim Rashtriya Manch said the decision must belong to the woman herself, whether she chooses domestic life or a career.
Protection, Dignity and Purdah
The Grand Mufti defended religious scholars’ responsibility to express views on matters of faith and said similar teachings had preserved women’s dignity.
- Speaker
- Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad, identified as the Kerala Grand Mufti
- Opposing response
- Dr Shalini Ali of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch strongly rejected the remarks
- Contested view
- Women should remain within their homes and avoid public life
- Religious justification
- The Grand Mufti said the Quran advocates the position and defended purdah
- Controversial analogy
- He compared protecting women to storing a gold necklace securely
- Critics’ argument
- Women are autonomous individuals with rights, aspirations and independent identities
- Organisation’s position
- Women may choose home and family, careers or public participation, but the decision must be theirs