Published Sep 02, 2026 | 12:28 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 02, 2026 | 12:28 PM
Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan.
Synopsis: Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan said he disagrees with Sunni scholar Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar’s remarks that women should remain confined to their homes, saying such a view has no place in the 21st century. Satheesan’s comments came a day after the IUML, a key constituent of the Congress-led UDF, defended Kanthapuram’s statement, maintaining that it was a “religious opinion”.
Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan said he disagrees with Sunni scholar Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar’s controversial remarks that women should remain confined to their homes, stating that such a view might have had a place in centuries past but had no place in the present.
Addressing the press on Wednesday, 2 September, Satheesan said neither the Congress nor the UDF government would support such a position.
“We cannot agree with that view in any way, whatsoever. It is something that someone in the nineteenth century might have said; it has no place being said in the twenty-first century. Our progressive view is that women are not people who should remain confined to their homes. They should participate in all aspects of life and be part of the mainstream of society. There should be absolutely no doubt about that,” he said.
“So we cannot agree with any of these kinds of views in any way. Neither this government nor our party will stand with or support such a position.”
Kanthapuram, speaking at an Islamic conference in Kochi on Sunday, had claimed that bringing women into the public sphere would cause “great destruction” and that Islam prescribed purdah to prevent this.
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The Chief Minister said Kanthapuram was misinterpreting Islam and cited women in Islamic history who held positions in business, the military and political power.
“That statement is actually a misinterpretation of Islam. Khadija, the Prophet’s first wife, was a major businesswoman. She was a very successful businesswoman. Aisha, another wife of the Prophet, participated in the Battle of the Camel and was the commander of an army. Queen Bilqis, who is mentioned in Islamic history, was a queen. So Islamic history includes a woman who conducted business, a woman who commanded an army, and a woman who was a queen,” he said.
“There is also a historical account that when Caliph Umar was making a decision to reduce the amount of mahr, it was a woman who questioned the decision. When the matter was raised in opposition to what he had decided, Caliph Umar, one of the most widely recognized just rulers in history, acknowledged that the woman was correct. In other words, women were present even in the royal court.”
The chief minister’s comments came a day after the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key constituent of the Congress-led UDF, defended Kanthapuram’s statement, maintaining that it was a “religious opinion”.
“Women are being hunted in the present situation. Perhaps he expressed his opinion out of concern for their safety and protection,” IUML state president Panakkad Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said.
