On Saturday (July 15), the Communist Party of India (CPIM) organised a ‘people’s seminar’ against the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the Kozhikode city of Kerala but did not allow Muslim women to speak about the issue, reported Onmanorama.
The event, which was inaugurated by CPIM leader Sitaram Yechury, had 28 speakers in total but not a single Muslim woman made it to the list. While speaking about the matter, noted Malayalam author Dr Khadeeja Mumthas said that it was a wrong decision by the CPI(M).
She informed that the organisers of the ‘people’s seminar’ approached her but did not send her a formal invitation as some of her views of UCC were in contrast to that of the CPIM.
“They (the organisers) asked me about my willingness to speak at the seminar during a meeting ahead of the programme. As I opened up about my stand at the time, their response was not positive…Muslim women are facing difficulties resulting from the Muslim personal law,” she emphasised.
Dr Mumthas further added, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken about implementing the UCC; that said, the issues faced by Muslim women are still a reality. In this context, a seminar to discuss the UCC must include Muslim women as speakers at the least.”
CPIM justifies decision to not invite female Muslim speakers
The Communist Party of India was however quick to justify that inviting Muslim speakers for an event on the Uniform Civil Code was not necessary.
MLA Kanathil Jameela claimed, “There were women representatives on the stage, like Mayor Dr Beena Philip, and Women’s Commission Chairperson Advocate P. Sathidevi and former minister PK Sreemathy. Apart from that, leaders of the Muslim community (referring to men) were also there to talk on behalf of Muslim women. That’s enough.”
She further said that there were hundreds of women in the audience and thus it was not mandatory to invite Muslim women to speak on the Uniform Civil Code.
Influence of Islamic outfit ‘Samastha’ in the decision-making process
An ultra-conservative Islamic outfit named ‘Samastha’ was invited by the CPIM to be a part of the event. The organisation has vowed to provide full support to the Communist Party in opposing the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code.
The secretary of Samastha, Umar Faizy Mukkom, said, “Whoever reacts strongly against UCC, Samastha will stand alongside them. Our president Jifri Muthukkoya Thangal has already stated this. Samastha will stand with CPIM in this matter.”
According to the founder of NISA, which advocates for reformation in Muslim Personal Law, CPIM did not invite Muslim women to appease leaders of Samastha.
V P Zuhara “They can’t invite Muslim ladies on stage, as they want to appease Samastha (Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama) leaders…Now we demand inclusion of Muslims under the Indian Succession Act…”
Writer Dr Hameed Chennamangaloor also attributed the absence of Muslim women in the ‘people’s seminar’ to the presence of Samastha leaders.
