IUML says Kanthapuram’s controversial remarks on women ‘scholarly expression’; CPI(M) leader P. Jayarajan questions stand

Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key ally of the ruling Congress in Keralam, on Tuesday (September 1, 2026) justified senior Sunni Muslim scholar Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar’s controversial remarks on women, describing them as a “scholarly expression”, while senior CPI(M) leader P. Jayarajan criticised the view that women should be kept away from public life.The controversy began after Kanthapuram, speaking at an Islamic conference in Kochi on Sunday, said bringing women onto public platforms would lead to “great destruction” and that Islam prescribed purdah for women to prevent this.Responding to questions from reporters about Musliyar’s remarks, IUML State president Panakkad Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said he had nothing more to say on the matter. “It was a scholarly expressio