Women at public events will cause great destruction: Kerala cleric sparks row

A cleric from Kerala has made controversial remarks about women, claiming they should remain confined to their homes as their appearance at public events would cause “great destruction”, news agency PTI reported. The comments triggered a huge outcry from opposition parties like CPI (M) and BJP, calling them “derogatory” and "medieval seclusion”.

Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar, 95, general secretary of the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, made the remarks days after the state's prominent council of Sunni-Shafi scholars directed that women should not share stages with men or appear in public spaces alongside them.

At an Islamic conference in Kochi on Sunday, Musliyar defended the directive and said Islam prescribed purdah for women to prevent such consequences. Musliyar, also known as Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad, serves as the tenth Grand Mufti of India.

“It is precisely recognising that bringing women onto public platforms in this manner causes great destruction that Islam mandated purdah for women. The Holy Quran states that women should live confined within their homes and must not make public appearances,” he said.

Musliyar said such views had been taught by religious scholars, particularly Samastha leaders, for the past 100 years, according to PTI.

“Therefore, you must understand that it is because all knowledgeable people, especially the leaders of Samastha, taught this here for 100 years that the women in this country have maintained their honour and dignity,” he said.

He said religious scholars had an obligation to speak on the issue despite criticism and would continue to do so.

“When this is said, if leaders of any other organisation or Samastha leaders object to or question it, we have studied the religion and therefore have an obligation to say it. We will say it and continue to say it. No one can make us stop,” he said.

This is not the first time Musliyar has faced criticism for his remarks on women. In 2015, he said gender equality was against Islam, though he later clarified his remarks had been distorted.

The cleric was also criticised in 2019 for saying women should not take to the streets against the Citizenship Amendment Act. In 2025, he objected to a fitness programme involving men and women exercising together, calling it against Islamic norms.

Notably, Musliyar played a key role in saving Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, who is on death row in Yemen for the murder of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi. He intervened with Yemeni religious authorities ahead of Priya's scheduled execution in July 2025, which was later postponed.

Kerala Women and Child Minister Bindu Krishna slammed the cleric, saying the Constitutiom guarantees equal rights to both women and men regardless of gender. She said that people have the right to lead a free life.

CPI(M), BJP SLAM CLERIC'S REMARKS, DIKTAT ON WOMEN

Musliyar's recent remarks on women drew criticism from the CPI(M), with its leader PK Sreemathi saying that Islam teaches that Prophet Mohammed urged that women be treated with respect and consideration.

“No matter who makes such a statement, even if the person holds a very high position, I cannot agree with the expression that women should not be displayed,” she said.

Sreemathi called the remarks “insulting and derogatory” and demanded its immediate withdrawal.

CPI(M) leader KK Shailaja criticised Musliyar's remarks, describing it as a “feudal custom”. She also questioned the directive from an organisation with a long history of work in education and social reform.

Kerala BJP chief and former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said women have a constitutional right to “learn, celebrate, lead, dream, and live with total freedom and dignity”.

He opposed what he described as attempts to impose “clerics’ diktats” and said the BJP and NDA would resist any move to push women into “medieval seclusion”.