Thiruvananthapuram: Two of Kerala’s well-known community leaders have added fuel to controversies that have been capturing a significant share of conversation in the state. On Sunday, Sunni leader Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musaliar was quoted as describing the concept of gender equality as “un-Islamic”, and as saying the power to control the universe “lies in the hands of men”.
The septuagenarian leader was also quoted as saying gender equality was “against Islam and humanity” and “intellectually wrong”.
More controversy was triggered by another community leader, Vellapally Natesan who alleged the state government had announced compensation to the family of Naushad, an autorickshaw driver, who died while attempting to save two workers who were suffocating in a manhole in Kozhikode last week, only because he was a Muslim.
The Ezhava leader and chief of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam alleged discrimination in offering compensation to Naushad’s family, saying two handball players who had died in a car accident last week were not paid compensation because they were Hindus.
Following their utterances, both Musaliar and Natesan have come in for sharp criticism.
Muslim Educational Society state president, Fazal Gafoor described Musaliar’s statement as “unfortunate”, adding his statement virtually gave a stick to Sangh Parivar outfits to beat Muslims with.
Musaliar had earlier said in the run-up to the civic elections that 50 per cent reservation for women was “too much”, but he later retracted on the statement. This time, too, his followers said he was wrongly quoted in the media.
Fazal Gafoor said no progressive organisation could approve the kind of statements that Musaliar made. He added that any kind of fundamentalism, whether Hindu or Muslim, would sabotage social development. Gafoor said it was a pity that the media, too, was ignoring the version of progressive Muslim organisations.
Reacting to Musaliar’s statement, Opposition leader, V.S. Achuthanandan said he should tender an apology to all women.
Musaliar said on Monday he had been talking about the roles of the two genders in family life, and that he was misquoted. In an official statement, he said: “It was in the context of the unique role of women, that it was mentioned that only women can bear children. This was twisted to give the impression that a woman’s role was only childbearing”.
An official in his Kozhikode office told Gulf News Musaliar was keen that the misunderstanding be cleared, and that he did not mean to belittle women.
Natesan also drew sharp criticism for his communal remarks. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president, V.M. Sudheeran, Opposition leader V.S. Achuthanandan and Communist Party of India Marxist, state secretary, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan all demanded that a case be filed against Natesan for his comment.
“Natesan’s remarks beat that of all other communal fanatics”, said CPM politburo member, Pinarayi Vijayan, who visited Naushad’s family members in Kozhikode.
