Kerala Minister Condemns Cleric's Call to Confine Women

Kerala Minister Bindu Krishna condemned remarks made by Islamic scholar and Grand Mufti of India Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar, who asserted that women should remain confined to their homes and avoid the public sphere. Speaking at the Hubbul Rasul Conference in Kochi, Musliyar argued that women entering public spaces leads to "great destruction" and compared women to gold ornaments that must be kept in a box to retain their beauty.

These comments follow a circular issued by the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, led by Musliyar and President E Sulaiman Musliyar. The directive instructed Madrasas to prevent women from being among unrelated men at religious events and prohibited them from sharing public platforms, stages, or road processions with men. Musliyar defended these restrictions as a means of maintaining women's dignity and upholding the purdah system prescribed by Islam.

Minister Krishna rejected the cleric's stance as completely unacceptable in the present era, stating that such views push women "centuries back." She argued that the Constitution of India guarantees equal rights and noted that women have already proven their capabilities as administrators and national representatives. In response to the criticism, Musliyar maintained that his religious studies give him the authority to speak on these matters and vowed that he would continue to do so.