IUML leader P.M.A. Salam sparks row in Kerala by calling gender equality a ‘misbelief’

IUML Kerala leader sparks debate by rejecting gender equality, emphasizing gender justice, amid controversy over MEC-7 in Kerala.

Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) Kerala State general secretary P.M.A. Salam has appeared to have stirred the pot and laid the ground for a heated social debate by claiming that gender equality was “a misbelief.”

Mr. Salam’s comment to reporters in Malappuram on Wednesday (January 29, 2025) assumed a measure of socio-political significance against the backdrop of the controversy surrounding the “gender-neutral” multi-exercise combination-7 (MEC-7) which seemed to have gained some fashion in north Kerala despite doctrinal opposition from influential Muslim social organisations.

Notably, Sunni leader Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar, a leading Muslim cleric, had recently noted that such practices which “compromise the modesty of women” were against the tenets of Islam. 

When viewed against the backdrop of the wrangling over MEC 7, Mr. Salam appeared to underscore the IUML’s line on the issue.

Mr. Salam termed the IUML’s stance unambiguous. “Women and men require social and gender justice in equal measure. The IUML champions gender justice, not gender equality”, he added.

Mr. Salam said those who trumpet gender equality were chasing a chimera. He noted that public transport buses had seats specially reserved for women. In educational institutions, male and female students sat separately. “In the Olympics, men and women competed separately”, he noted. 

Later, speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Salam said he would clarify the IUML’s stance in the afternoon.