Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) Kerala State general secretary P.M.A. Salam has appeared to have stirred the pot and laid the ground for a heated social debate by claiming that gender equality was “a misbelief.”
Mr. Salam’s comment to reporters in Malappuram on Wednesday (January 29, 2025) assumed a measure of socio-political significance against the backdrop of the controversy surrounding the “gender-neutral” multi-exercise combination-7 (MEC-7) which seemed to have gained some fashion in north Kerala despite doctrinal opposition from influential Muslim social organisations.
Notably, Sunni leader Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar, a leading Muslim cleric, had recently noted that such practices which “compromise the modesty of women” were against the tenets of Islam.
When viewed against the backdrop of the wrangling over MEC 7, Mr. Salam appeared to underscore the IUML’s line on the issue.
Mr. Salam termed the IUML’s stance unambiguous. “Women and men require social and gender justice in equal measure. The IUML champions gender justice, not gender equality”, he added.
Mr. Salam said those who trumpet gender equality were chasing a chimera. He noted that public transport buses had seats specially reserved for women. In educational institutions, male and female students sat separately. “In the Olympics, men and women competed separately”, he noted.
Later, speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Salam said he would clarify the IUML’s stance in the afternoon.
Last week, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretary M.V. Govindan had termed opposition to gender equality in any sphere of human activity as revanchist.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) wrote an opinion piece in its mouthpiece, Janayugam, opposing the “divisive tendency to mix religion in everything” against the MEC-7 controversy’s backdrop.
In early January, the Congress had arguably signalled its line on the MEC-7 controversy. K. Sreekandan, the party’s MP from Palakkad, inaugurated a local chapter of patrons.
In contrast, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president K. Surendran had claimed last week that “anti-national forces” were using MEC-7 as a cover to recruit impressionable persons to their radical cause.
CPI(M) district secretary, Kannur, N. Mohanan, who struck a similar line, retracted his statement.
Former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president V.M. Sudheeran said he had not heard Mr. Salam’s words and would not hazard a comment at the current juncture. Youth Congress State president Rahul Mamkootathil, MLA, struck a similar note.
