Archive · 29 Aug 2026
Kerala BJP Chief Opposes Clerical Restrictions on Women’s Public Life
Kerala BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar said women should be free to study, celebrate and take part in public life.
He said no religious or political instruction should take away those rights.
His statement came after a group of Islamic scholars issued guidance about how religious events should be organised.
The scholars said women should not be displayed among unrelated men at public events.
They also said celebrations should follow Islamic rules and avoid non-Islamic customs.
Some people, including CPI(M) leader P K Sreemathi, criticised the guidance.
Other Islamic scholars supported it as advice about religious beliefs.
The disagreement is about how religious rules should apply while women retain equal freedom in public spaces.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar said women in Kerala have constitutional rights to learn, celebrate, lead and live with dignity.
His comments followed a Samastha directive urging religious-event organisers to follow Islamic norms regarding women’s presence among unrelated men.
The directive also opposed incorporating non-Islamic customs into religious celebrations and programmes.
CPI(M) leader P K Sreemathi condemned the directive and called for its withdrawal.
Islamic scholars Musthafa Mundupara and Nasar Faizy Koodathayi defended scholars’ authority to explain religious rules to believers.
- Who
- Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Kanthapuram faction of Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, CPI(M) leader P K Sreemathi, and Islamic scholars Musthafa Mundupara and Nasar Faizy Koodathayi.
- What
- A political and religious dispute over guidance restricting women’s participation or visibility at some religious programmes.
- When
- The Samastha directive was issued on Friday; Chandrasekhar and other responses followed on Saturday.
- Where
- Kerala, with Chandrasekhar speaking from Thiruvananthapuram.
- Why
- Chandrasekhar opposed what he described as clerical restrictions on women, while Samastha said religious events should observe prescribed Islamic boundaries.
Women’s Equality Advocates
Religious-Observance Advocates
Women’s public participation
Women’s Equality Advocates
Rajeev Chandrasekhar and P K Sreemathi said women should be able to participate in public life with freedom, dignity and equal opportunity, and opposed restricting them to the shadows.
Religious-Observance Advocates
Samastha urged organisers to prevent religious programmes from displaying young women among unrelated men, saying this was outside permissible religious boundaries.
Authority over religious conduct
Women’s Equality Advocates
Chandrasekhar argued that clerical diktats should not limit women’s constitutional rights, while Sreemathi called for the directive’s withdrawal.
Religious-Observance Advocates
Musthafa Mundupara and Nasar Faizy Koodathayi said Islamic scholars have a responsibility to explain religious rules, which believers may accept or reject.
Nature of celebrations
Women’s Equality Advocates
Critics viewed the guidance as an attempt to restrict women’s visibility and participation in public events.
Religious-Observance Advocates
Samastha and its supporters said religious celebrations should preserve Islamic values and discipline, including by avoiding non-Islamic customs.
- BJP position
- Rajeev Chandrasekhar said women have constitutional rights to freedom, dignity and equal opportunity in public life.
- Religious directive
- The Kanthapuram faction of Samastha urged religious programmes to follow Islamic norms.
- Women at events
- The directive said displaying young women among unrelated men on public roads and stages was not permissible for believers.
- Other celebrations
- Samastha objected to incorporating non-Islamic customs and forms of celebration into such programmes.
- Political criticism
- CPI(M) leader P K Sreemathi condemned the directive and demanded its withdrawal.
- Scholarly support
- Musthafa Mundupara and Nasar Faizy Koodathayi defended scholars’ responsibility to communicate religious rulings.
