Women needn't speak to male crowd; Muslim League secretary insults woman leader in public
- Muslim League leader prevents woman leader from addressing a public meeting of the party.
- We have no precedence of women addressing men, the leader said.
FollowIn an unapologetic display of male dominance in public, Senior woman leader of Indian Union Muslim League’s (IUML) and the state president of its women’s wing was stopped from addressing the audience at the state conference of Muslim Youth League at Kozhikode on 12 November.
Kamarunnisa Anwar was the lone women guest on the dais which revealed the male dominance in the Muslim League. When she walked up to the podium to address the crowd after Muslim League MLA KM Shaji was about to conclude his speech, the party state secretary M C Mayeen Haji prevented her and told bluntly that women need not address the male audience.
We have no precedence of a woman addressing a male crowd: Muslim League leader Mayeen Haji
"We have no precedence of a woman addressing a male crowd," Haji told her as other leaders watched on silently. "Even the Mujahid movement do not allow women to speak in their conferences," he added referring to the Kerala Nadvatul Mujahideen, which is considered as the most progressive Muslim organisations in Kerala.
Though miffed by the public insult, the woman leader, however, did not openly question the leadership even after a video of the incident whipped up a controversy.
"I waited (till the last speaker) hoping that they would invite me (to address the audience). Anyway, I didn't speak," Kamarunnisa Anwar told Asianet News. "They invited (me for the meeting), I went. I saw, and I returned. That's all," she added.
As you know, Muslim League is for men, and we have Vanitha League for women. And we are providing all facilities to them: Haji
Haji is unperturbed. "I expressed my opinion and she spoke out her view," he said. "As you know, Muslim League is for men, and we have Vanitha League for women. And we are providing all facilities to them," he said.
Kamarunnisa, who used to keep a low key, had gone on public against the Muslim League leadership after it denied seats to the women party members in the Kerala Assembly polls early this year. The party did not field women in the 24 seats it contested. Protesting this, Kamarunnisa had warned that the women in the party would resign if the indifference prevailed.
