With regards to the recent issue where a Muslim scholar allegedly unleashed his anger on the organisers of an event in Malappuram for calling a girl on stage to receive an award, Governor of Kerala, Arif Mohammed Khan, said that he was "disappointed" by the silence over the issue and also saddened by the silence of the leadership in Kerala. "I am so deeply disappointed that the whole political leadership is silent about it. And not just the political leadership, even the others are silent about it. I appeal to the national leadership of every party to come forward and protect the honour and dignity of our daughters," Khan said.
Speaking about the leader belonging to Samastha, a scholarly body in Kerala, which includes ten thousand madrasas, Khan said, "They might be having a hundred thousand madrasas. But because of their strength, I am not going to keep my conscience suppressed. They might be very powerful, but they have no right to humiliate, to insult and to offend the modesty of a young talented girl," as stated in a report by PTI.
He added, "They might have any number, these numbers do not matter. You are in a democracy, in a rule of law. Be you ever so high, the law is above you. This is not merely a violation of the clear-cut commands of the Qur'an. It is clear cut violations of the provisions of the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution."
It was during the inauguration of a madrasa building in Malappuram district that students were called on stage for felicitation. This is when the girl was humiliated. The leader of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Panakkad Sayed Abbas Ali Shihab Thangal, was bestowing mementos to students. After giving the awards, Muslim scholar, MT Abdullah Musaliyar, angrily questioned the event organisers, "Who invited a Class X girl to the stage?" He continued, "Don't call such girls here. Don't you know the rules of Samastha? Were you the one who called her? Ask her parents to come to the stage to collect the award. Don't do such things while we are sitting here. This will appear in photos and be telecast."
Disturbed by this incident, Khan took to Twitter on Wednesday, May 11, and posted, "Sad to know that a young talented girl was humiliated on stage in Malappuram district while receiving a well-deserved award simply because she was born into a Muslim family. This is yet another example of how Muslim clerics continue to push hard Muslim women into seclusion and suppress their personality in total defiance of Qur'anic commands and provisions of the Constitution."
