Several Muslim women in Sunday, November 6, burnt Hijab in a Kozhikode street. It was in solidarity with the Iranian women who have been agitating against the obsolete compulsory Hijab. The agitation was organised by Independent Islamic Thinkers.
The new development is very much significant when Islamic fundamentalism is growing in Kerala day by day. The banned Popular Front of India (PFI) appears to be still active in the state, thanks to the ‘tough competition’ between ruling CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in appeasing the fundamentalists. “Hijab Burning” and flourishing “Ex Muslim” movement are the silver-lines in the otherwise dark fundamentalist clouds looming large above Kerala.
In recent weeks, the killing of Mahsa Amini while in custody for “wearing her hijab improperly” has outraged Iranians and sparked a new round of nation-wide protests. Iranian women’s fight against the state-imposed dress code, however, started as early as 1979. An ongoing series of protests and civil unrest against the government of Iran began in Tehran on 16 September 2022 , soon after Mahsa Amini’s death.
The protests have been seen as the greatest challenge to the clerical leadership since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Unlike the 2019 -2010 protests, the current protests are spread nationwide, across social classes, universities, the streets and schools.
T. Satisan, Keralam
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