IUML’s Former Women Leaders For Removal of Kerala MSF President, Reject Offers To Join Other Parties

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Former Haritha secretary general Najma Thabsheera.

Syed Khalique Ahmed

NEW DELHI—Former leaders of the Haritha, women’s wing of the Indian Union Muslim League’s (IUML) student wing – Muslim Students Federation – have refused to compromise on their demand for expulsion of MSF president P K Navaz even as they turned down the offers to join other political parties on ideological grounds.

Speaking to India Tomorrow over the phone from her home in Kerala, former Haritha State general secretary T. Najma Thabsheera said that there were offers from CPM, BJP and Aam Aadmi Party after the Haritha office-bearers raised the issue of their alleged sexual harassment by MSF leaders. Some individuals from the Congress also approached and invited the former Haritha leaders to join the Congress student wing.

“But we turned down the offer on ideological grounds because we don’t feel that any of these parties can give justice to women. There have been many incidents of sexual assault on women leaders of these parties in Kerala but no justice was given to the victims by their respective parties,” Najma alleged.

No gender justice in other parties as well, “Leftists are hypocrites”

She said that one of the prominent CPI (M) legislators, PK Sasi, was accused of repeated sexual abuse by a member of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the Marxist’s party, in 2018. Instead of taking action against him, the CPM-led Left Democratic from (LDF) government has now appointed him as Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) chairman.

“Left party leaders are hypocrites with regard to women. If they could not give justice to their own woman party leader, how can a woman from outside their party hope for justice from the Left party leaders?” she commented.

Stating that the former Haritha members rejected the offers from other political parties, Najma said that they turned down the invitations because of the strong ideological foundation of IUML. “IUML had visionary leaders in the past. Unfortunately, the present leadership is not taking the gender justice issue within the party seriously and hence, this problem,” said Najma.

The issue is about the dignity of women, IUML must change its “stereotype mindset” about women

She said that the issue that IUML’s women student leaders have raised, pertained to the dignity of women, and it had nothing to do with politics. “We want that IUML, as a party claiming to protect the interest of the Muslim community, should address the gender issues seriously and give justice to the aggrieved women cadres of the Haritha that works in college and university campuses,” she demanded.

Why does the IUML leadership not acting on their complaint that has now reached the Kerala State Commission for Women (KSCW)? She said that it was the “stereotype mindset” of the IUML leaders about women that was perhaps the reason for not giving serious consideration to the issue. The same problem was in other political parties as well and that is why all these parties, be it Left, Congress, BJP or IUML, were not giving proportionate or adequate representation to women in their party hierarchy despite the fact that women members in any of the political parties are equally educated or even more educated than their male counterparts.

“So, the gender issue or the sexual harassment of women in political parties cannot be solved by changing the party. We will have to fight for it while remaining in IUML itself so that women in future don’t face such a problem not only in IUML but also in other political parties or even in non-political organizations,” Najma, who is currently studying for Master of Laws (LLM), said.

Educational and Islamic cultural impact led to awareness among women about their rights

Stating that “the narrow-minded IUML leaders are not able to understand the right of a Muslim woman,” Najma said that the Kerala Muslim women had become more aware of their rights because of getting modern education in the last 30-40 years owing to efforts of IUML and other organizations as well as the impact of Islamic teachings on their life and culture. “In fact, the Muslim women in Kerala are more progressive and advanced in their thinking so far as awareness about their rights is concerned,” she pointed out. She said that it was because of their educational awareness that they led the anti-CAA movement in Kerala very successfully without the involvement of men.

Muslim women are more educated than men in Kerala, which made them challenge the abusive behaviour of men in IUML

If Najma is believed, 60 per cent of students in undergraduate courses and about 80-90 per cent of students in post-graduate courses in the Muslim-dominated Malabar region are Muslim girl students and this growth of modern education has developed qualities of leadership among the Muslim women of Kerala. As for boys, she says that a large number of them drop out after passing Std XII, either in search of some job in Gulf countries, or go for businesses.

The acquisition of modern knowledge coupled with knowledge of Islam has created self-confidence among the women leaders of the Haritha who objected to the use of alleged “indecent and filthy” language by the Muslim Students Federation leaders who happen to be male. All the 10 Haritha office-bearers and leaders, who complained to the IUML leadership, and later on, to the state women commission, against the alleged abusive behaviour of MSF leaders, are pursuing either post-graduate courses or doing PhD and research in their respective fields.

Najma said that former Haritha office-bearers are waiting for a decision by IUML leaders on the issue till September 26 when the party is scheduled to hold a deliberation on the gender issues and sexual harassment of the Haritha members by some of MSF leaders, particularly MSF state president P K Nawaz and two others.

“We will not settle for anything less than the removal of Nawaz from MSF and IUML because such a person is not fit for leadership in a party like IUML,” she asserted.

Asked what will be the next course of action by her and her colleagues who have been removed from their positions after reconstitution of the Haritha, Najma said that the tone of IUML leaders had softened after former Haritha leaders held a press conference at the Calicut Press Club three days ago and brought the issue in public.

“We hope IUML leadership will punish those guilty of sexual harassment of women members to set an example so that no one in future dares to behave in such a way with women in the party or even outside,” she said.

“However, if no decision comes to our satisfaction, then we will decide collectively as what to do the next,” she stated.

Asked what actually happened that provoked the Haritha leaders to demand action against MSF leaders, Najma said that there was a joint meeting of the Haritha and MSF in Kozhikode on June 24.

“MSF president PK Nawaz, who invited me to speak from the dais, used highly abusive language for the Haritha office-bearers and members”, she alleged.

MSF President allegedly compared the Haritha leaders with prostitutes

Speaking about the exact language, she said that Nawaz repeated a Malayali proverb several times which meant that “even a prostitute has her rights, so you can also have your right.”

“Navaz, according to Najma, also alleged that the Haritha was controlled by a man who is a cyber goon.

“This was very ugly and disgusting,” Najma said.

She said that two other MSF leaders from the Mallapuram district committee launched a character assassination campaign against the Haritha members. “They called us feminists which is interpreted in Kerala as morally corrupt,” Najma alleged.

“All this became the immediate reason for us to lodge a complaint with IUML leaders. We personally called on IUML leaders and requested them to address the issue faced by the girls and women in the party, by taking action against the guilty persons but the leadership did not take the issue seriously,” she explained.

After 50 days of making the complaint with the party leaders, the Haritha women lodged a complaint with the state women commission.

“IUML leaders sat with us after the women commission recommended to take action in the matter. But they tried to strike a compromise. They insisted that we withdraw our complaint. But we stuck to our guns demanding removal of Kerala MSF president Nawaz. We said he is not fit to become a leader but IUML leadership did not accept it,” she narrated.

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