Kerala ally differs with CPM, says no to rights for women

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM’s
proclamations of ushering in equal rights for women doesn’t seem to have
cut ice with its southern ally, Kanthapuram Aboobaker Musaliar, who heads the
all-powerful Sunni sect in Kerala.

Musaliar, popularly known as
‘‘Arival Sunni’’ (Sickle Sunni) for his Left slant, has
said a strict no to a clause in the party’s manifesto which says that
efforts would be made to ‘‘ensure equal rights to women of all
communities’’.

‘‘This is against the Koran
and we will oppose it,’’ Kanthapuram said. His office spokesperson
Hussain Sakafi Chullikode reaffirmed this. ‘‘Islam is very close to
nature which has created men and women as biologically different creatures. Even
the size of their brains differs and so does their kidneys. We belive that
nature has women physically weak and therefore the onus is on the man to behave
decently with her and to protect her.

‘‘It’s
against the rules of nature to argue that women and men are the same or that
they are like two wheels of a vehicle and are entitled to equal rights. No
civilised society can accept this and from an Islamic viewpoint, we will oppose
this,’’ he told TOI.

The CPM’s relations with
Kanthapuram run deep. The party’s nominee for Ponnani in Malappuram,
Hussain Randathani, is considered close to the cleric. BJP’s candidate
from Kozhikode, where Kanthapuram is based, expressed his disgust at the
comments and said it exposed CPM double standards. ‘‘On the one hand
they say they are for empowering women, and on the other they have elements like
Kanthapuram who are rabidly anti-women. This amounts to
Talibanisation,’’ he said.