Reforms and Muslim Women in Kerala

By Grace Mubashir, New Age Islam 12 June 2023 By the 19th century, reform movements accelerated across the country. The movements spread through individual efforts and collective organisational efforts. Contact with colonial modernity and the dismantling of older social structures hastened the process. Modern education, introduced by the British, brought upon new social enlightenment. Developments in the printing industry and the birth of a new educated middle class supported reform activities. Women empowerment occupied significant attention and aimed at swift social change. The reformers challenged many practices derogatory to women like widow issues, women issues, child marriage and the Purdah system. Likelihood could be found in reform activities among Kerala Muslims and other communities of Kerala. Anti-caste movements of Ezhavas (lower castes), and religious reforms of Nayars and Muslims drew their energy from the popularization of modern education and progressive thoughts. Muslim reformers of Kerala were the products of limited educational opportunities provided by secular educational development towards the end of the nineteenth century. Sanaulla Makti Thangal, Vakkom Moulavi, Chalilakath Kunchahammad Haji and Hamdani Thangal belong to the league of early Muslim reformers. They sagely used printing technology to contend with progressive changes in society to match the swift social changes of the time. Muslims of Kerala prioritized religious education with a contemptuous attitude toward secular education. These reformers first targeted popularizing education among Muslims and enable a positive social outlook towards the changing realities of colonial India. They addressed the marginalization of Muslim women from education. Religious reforms, the popularization of modern education and women's empowerment were the important agendas of reformers. They contended the deplorable conditions of women and savagely criticized the orthodoxy for desisting women from venturing into modernity. They promoted vernacular education to produce educational avenues for all sections of the Muslim community. The reformers addressed the vexing issue of the invisibility of women. They predicated their reform on bringing educational developments accessible to women so that they join the mainstream of society opened up by colonialism. Efforts by Vakkom Abdul Qadar Moulavi (1873-1932) are remarkable in this regard. He fought for women's education through his publications ‘al-Islam’, ‘al-Muslim’ and Deepika. In the first issue of al-Muslim, he analysed the dismal presence of Muslim women in Travancore princely state. He staunchly supported charity organisations and exhorted Muslim leaders to open schools for the sake of the upliftment of women. Madrassa reforms by Chalilakath Kunchahammad Haji (1866-1919) were revolutionary that changed the anachronistic pedagogic patterns followed in the state for imparting religious education. He introduced Malayalam learning and scientific subjects for the first time in Kerala religious institutions. He took the initiative in promoting women's education by enrolling his relatives in schools. For his scintillating efforts, he earned the sobriquet of ‘Sir Sayed of Kerala’. By the 1920s Kerala Muslim Aikya Sangham (Kerala Muslim Unity Conference) was established to channel the activities to a larger audience. In 1924, the second conference of the organisation passed a bold resolution to bring women to classrooms in a bid to empower the female human resources of the community. Organisation along with new colonial Muslim elites lobbied the British government to open schools. The popularity of the printing press in disseminating such thought could not be undermined. From the 1920s to 1960s disparate Muslim publications supported women empowerment programmes. Al-Ittihad, al-Bayan, Hidayath, and Murshid are examples. Haleema Beevi was a feisty women journalist who supported Muslim women’s causes. Halima Beevi has tried to make the plight of women very clear through her speeches and writings. She challenged the male class by hollering "It's up to you to make women responsible, sensible and wise," adding that education alone cannot satisfy women, but that women need to come together to make their needs clear and secure their rights. Her speech at the Women's Conference in Thiruvalla in 1938 can be read as a clarion call for the renaissance of women. Halima Beevi said that the purpose of this conference is to raise the self-esteem of women and that women are not supposed to be subjugated by men and that they should have freedom, existence and mission. "According to Shariah, a woman has the same rights as men. How many women among us have understood this meaning? Or is Prophet a role model for the men who have been degraded like this and turned into kitchen puppets into birth machines?" Though not as famous as Halima Beevi, there were many Muslim women in the public sphere. Some of them are Aisha Bimahin, Mrs. Rajamma Yusuf, Thankamma Malik and Mariam Beevimarakkar. Her contributions have been detailed in another article published in the portal. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also Read: Haleema Beevi: Pioneer of Social Reform and Broad-Based Muslim Education in Kerala -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Rise Of Women's Organisations The phase up to 1970 was the phase of Muslim organisations' educational advancement that included Sunni and Salafi organisations. Women's education struggles for freedom of worship, and debates with traditionalists established the foundation of the reform movement. During this period, women were educated both in religious centres and schools. The rapid growth of educational institutions under different associations is an example of this. But after the 1970s, the organisation became very powerful and the way it functioned changed. The process of decentralization of power in the organisations shows that the organisation has got a new energy. Sub-organisations targeted only women such as Islahi Students Movement, Samastha Kerala Students Federation and Muslim Girls Majlis were formed. With this, a new phase began in women's education. Only a few works written in the 1940s and 1970s are discussed here. All that is done here is to highlight how women look at their social status and religious rights in the available writings. They have written works that deny patriarchy and priesthood in strong language. But in real life, patriarchy could not be rejected. They tried to create a place of woman's own within the framework of religion. Women were given a place in the annual conferences of the Kerala Nadwatul Mujahideen, Halima Beevi's speech is relevant here. After the 1950s, scholarly women gave lectures at many conferences. Moreover, it can be observed that the programmes and priorities adopted by the Renaissance movements during the women's empowerment phase were very advanced. From absolute literacy to higher education and equality in workplaces, agendas to enable representation in the socio-political spheres can be seen as part of the women's empowerment project. But the fact of the matter is that this stance on the women's empowerment project could not go ahead with the old vigour after the Salafi movement became more organized and women, student and youth elements were formed. Salafi Organisations have not been able to go much further in identifying the role and relevance of women beyond domestic life. This can be understood when we evaluate the positions and actions of the women's sections of the organisation and their publications. While Muslim women have been allowed entry into mosques and mosques, a closer analysis shows that Muslim women in Kerala are still far from the freedom allowed by Islam in the spheres of family, and social life. A comparison between Salafi newspaper publications and early writings in the post-1970s shows that women in literary thought have retreated from the Renaissance boom. In this second phase, there is a significant change in the process of women's advancement. The 'woman' under the organisation is seen to be more submissive than stronger. After the Kuttippuram (Malappuram) conference in 1987, the need for a separate women's wing was realized and subsequently, the Muslim Girls Majlis was formed. Later, MGM became very systematic among the Muslim women of Kerala. It worked against the evil practices among women through various awareness activities from numerous branches. Effective discussions were organized across Kerala with the theme 'Subhadra Kudumbam’ (Moral Family) to analyse women's problems and solutions. It was during this time that a magazine called 'Putava' (Dress) was started. This organisation aimed to "work to teach the society the freedom given to women by Islam and thereby uphold the dignity of Islam, and to equip Muslim women to lead the society within the Islamic framework". Even today, these women's organisations are not moving away from the ideas of the early reform organisations such as women's entry into mosques, immorality and dowry. These organisations do not take a serious approach to the issues of Muslim women in Kerala or gender inequality within the religion and practice of Shariah. In 1984, the Students' Organisation (GIO) of The Jamaat-e-Islami was established. This organisation aimed to empower women and emancipate women. But unlike MGM, it aimed at the involvement of women in the political arena. The organisation also has the intention of enabling women to take advantage of their opportunities in the field of public service and workplaces. In articles in their publications, we can see their feminine attitude. It highlighted the freedom and protection that religion allows for women and argues that women's freedom, freedom of expression and the anti-religious idea are influenced by Western thought. The influence of these organisations on the spread of ‘purdah’ is immense. Although they are not apparently in favour of ‘purdah’, their attitude to ‘purdah’ is evident in their articles. Like the purdah, Islamic Sharia is one of the most talked about topics among Muslim women. Since the Indian Muslim personal laws are not fully codified, there is a lot of scope for gender-discriminatory interpretations. Let's see how Muslim progressive movements evaluate this situation. No one has any objection that Islam is a religion that protects the rights of women. Therefore, they do not believe that Muslim personal law in India should be changed. They argue for changes describing the goodness of Islam, there is no mention of maintenance after divorce. Issues relating to personal law have not been discussed among Muslim women or new ideas have been created in it. Christian and Hindu women have organized and achieved the benefit of reforming their respective civil laws. However, such reforms are currently hazy among Muslim women and the demands for the same are not heard. As a result of the efforts of the Muslim reformers of Kerala like Maktithangal, Chalilakath Kunjahammed Haji and Vakkom Abdul Khader Moulavi, revolutionary progress was made among the Muslims at the educational, cultural and social levels. The Makti Thangals started a new school of thought among the Muslims of Kerala. With Maulana Chalilakath’s madrassa reform, the field of religious education has acquired a new dimension. The secular outlook of education promoted by Vakkom Moulavi made modern education accessible to Muslims rather than religious studies. The upliftment of Muslim women was the ultimate goal of these reformers. In the first phase of the Renaissance from the 1920s to 1960s, Muslim women entered the public sphere through magazines and speeches due to the efforts of the reformers. Within the framework of religion, they can be seen to have reacted strongly against the priesthood and patriarchy. In the second phase after the 1960s, these organisational movements gained strength and women's organisations emerged. New women's publications were also introduced during this period. Women's newspaper and magazine writings after the 1970s testify to the fact that the advances of women in the field of literature and thought during the Renaissance did not go very far. The woman in the organisation can be seen to be becoming more submissive than strengthened. These women became only a category to increase the strength of the organisations. It should be critically assessed that despite the existence of a large number of religious educational institutions, not a single Kerala Muslim woman has risen to the scholarly level. These organisations have not been able to make Muslim personal laws woman-friendly through systematic reform, including the Muslim marriage law changes. Current organisations don't do enough for legal equality related to life to achieve the freedom that Islam allows or to socialize with the changing world order. ----- A regular columnist for NewAgeIslam.com, Mubashir V.P is a PhD scholar in Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia and freelance journalist. 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