Kerala’s Gulf legacy faces a gender reckoning
On August 24th 2026, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor called for serious internal introspection within Keralam‘s Muslim community after bringing to light a 2022 World Bank study that linked Gulf migration, particularly from Saudi Arabia, with more conservative and reactionary gender norms among returning Kerala Muslim migrants.
The 2022 policy research working paper titled “Beyond Money: Does Migration Experience Transfer Gender Norms? Empirical Evidence from Keralam, India” evaluated social and gender attitudes among Gulf returnees.
The data indicated that migrants returning from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf parts exhibited rigid acceptance of strict gender discrimination and conservative viewpoints regarding household structures and gender-based violence compared to non-migrants.
For decades, Keralam’s relationship with the Gulf has been measured in remittances. The success stories of Malayalees working in the Gulf were about the money they sent home, the mansions built with remittances, and the families whose lives were transformed by Gulf money. But the World Bank study has put a disturbing dimension of that migration in the spotlight. It is about the hardcore social and gender attitudes, and normalisation of domestic violence that migrants return with from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.
Saudi returnees tended to exhibit extreme attitudes relating to physical violence against women, says the World Bank paper, which was suppressed and unreported in the media till now. Maybe the Keralam media, which excels in biased reporting, preferred to maintain a studied silence, fearing loss of advertisement revenue, as Muslim businesses splurge lavishly on advertisements. But MP Shashi Tharoor’s sudden disclosure put them in a spot, and they were compelled to offer diluted coverage and response.
But as if to confirm the World Bank research report, noted Muslim Cleric, Sunni Islamic scholar, and Grand Mufti of India Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musaliyar sparked a major controversy in Kerala in late August 2026 by defending an organizational circular that restricted women’s participation on public platforms. Addressing a conference in Kochi, the 95-year-old cleric stated that women should ideally remain confined to their homes, claiming that bringing women onto public stages alongside unrelated men could cause “great destruction”. He compared women to valuable gold ornaments that lose their value if exposed on the roadside, arguing that they remain safe and dignified when kept “inside a box”. The controversy originally began after the Kanthapuram-led faction of the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama issued a directive to local Mahals and Madrassas. The circular explicitly ordered that young women should not be “displayed” on public stages, take part in street rallies, or mingle with unrelated men during religious festivals (like Milad-e-Sharif). Defending the circular, Musaliyar invoked religious scriptures and the practice of Purdah, asserting that gender segregation and domestic spaces are ordained to protect women’s honour and dignity.
But this antediluvian mindset invited a severe backlash, even from the Keralam Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, who strongly rejected the cleric’s remarks, stating that regressive views regarding the confinement of women have no place in a progressive society like Keralam and that women must join the mainstream. Leaders from the CPI(M) and BJP also heavily criticized the statements, calling them archaic and “feudal”.
Massive outrage also erupted online. Numerous Muslim women from Kerala uploaded videos and posts fiercely rejecting the decree, questioning why they should be erased from public life. Meanwhile, other religious scholars, such as Thiruvananthapuram Palayam Juma Masjid Imam V.P. Suhaib Maulavi, countered the Musaliyar by clarifying during a Friday sermon that Islam has never prohibited women from participating in social and public spaces.
Many expressed outrage and questioned how the word “display” could be used with reference to a living human being. “Display” is a word used for inanimate objects. How can it be used for a living person? Such expressions and language are extremely offensive, said most of the Muslim women. Whoever made the remark should withdraw it,” was the fierce response of Smt. P.K. Sreemathy, a senior CPI(M) leader. Numerous individual Muslim women, activists, and commentators took to video platforms and social media to challenge his theological and social stances. Across social media platforms like Instagram and X, Muslim women in Keralam posted video responses questioning the cleric’s narrative, using arguments such as “Why don’t you stay home”, and pointing out that early Islamic history features prominent, independent female figures like Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (the Prophet’s wife and a successful businesswoman).
Many of these obscurantists forget that Raziyyat-Ud-Dunya Wa Ud-Din Razia Sultan was the first Muslim woman to rule India and sat on the throne of Delhi from 1231 to 1232 CE. She was the fifth ruler of the Mamluk Dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. (Raziya Sultana: Breaking Barriers, Shaping History).
Muslim women who have made their mark in Indian history include names like Abadi Bano Begum, Bibi Amtus Salam, Begum Anis Kidwai, Begum Nishatunnisa Mohani Baji Jamalunnisa, Hajara Beebi Ismail, Kulsum Sayani, and Syed Fakrul Hajiya Hassan.
Closer to home, in Keralam itself, the Arakkal kingdom, in Kannur District, was ruled by the Muslim queen called Arakkal Beevi.
The Malayalam film industry itself has a good presence of Muslim female actors. Nilambur Ayisha was the first female actor from the Muslim community to step into Malayalam theatre and cinema. Among the modern-day actresses, Nazriya Nazim is very popular. Other well-known names include Fara Shibla, Zarin Shihab, Ansiba Hassan, Shamna Kasim, Noorin Shereef, Nadhiya, and Riya Shibu.
The state also has a fair representation of Muslim women in the IAS, IPS, IFS, and IRS services. Dr. Sheena Shukkur is a prominent Muslim woman academic from Kerala who served as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University and briefly officiated as the Vice-Chancellor of both Mahatma Gandhi University and the National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS).
Many of the present-day obscurantists, who are straining to tether their womenfolk to the seventh-century practices of Saudi Arabia, should not forget that it was Dr. P. K. Abdul Gafoor, the founder and first president of the Muslim Educational Society (MES) in 1964, who made the advancement of women’s education one of the core pillars of the organization. His organizational push for female literacy helped increase the representation of Muslim women in education in the region from roughly 1% in 1964 to over 70% in later decades, including robust representation in professional fields like medicine and engineering.
The emphasis on female empowerment is even represented in the official emblem of the organization, which features a quill pen held in a bangled hand specifically to denote the high importance given to women’s education.
Obscurantists who are fantasizing about locking up women in 7th century practices should understand that radical transformations are taking place in Saudi Arabia itself. Women’s empowerment in modern Saudi Arabia has expanded rapidly through major legal, economic, and social reforms driven by Saudi Vision 2030. Saudi women received the legal right to drive in 2018, which greatly improved daily mobility and independence. Amendments to civil and travel regulations allow adult women to apply for passports, travel abroad, and manage official civil documentation without prior permission from a male guardian. Female labour force participation rose from around 17%–23% to over 34%, surpassing the original Vision 2030 goal of 30%. Women now own a significant portion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the Saudi Kingdom.
Such being the case, what credibility is there for a handful of obscurantists to demand locking up women inside houses and preventing their mingling with society? The Indian Constitution guarantees women equal rights, personal liberty, and protection from discrimination through specific fundamental rights and directive principles. Five of the most important fundamental women’s rights globally include the right to education, economic empowerment, political participation, reproductive rights, and freedom from violence and discrimination.
Contrary to the beliefs of obscurantists and fundamentalists, Islam places great importance on women and recognizes the roles they play.
1.“Their Lord responded to them: “I never fail to reward any worker among you for any work you do, be you male or female – you are equal to one another.” (Quran 3: 195)
2.“And for women are rights over men similar to those of men over women.” (Quran 2:228)
Concluding: “How beautiful it is to live in a world with no walls.”
― Manal al-Sharif, Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman’s Awakening.
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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