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A very important and ideologically heated statement has emerged from the South Indian state of Kerala regarding women’s rights, their personal freedom and constitutional protection in the Indian democracy and social fabric. Kerala Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Rajiv Chandrasekhar said in a sharp and clear statement on Saturday that every woman and young daughter of the state has been given the full right by the Constitution of the country to live life with complete freedom, dignity and respect, pursue their education, participate in various festivals and realize their dreams. His strong statement came just a day after a leading organization of Islamic scholars and religious leaders in the state appealed to public religious organizers not to bring women to public places or prevent them from sitting among unknown men. Raising voice against such religious decrees and orders, BJP State President has termed it as a major obstacle in the progress of women.

Making the point through his official statements and social media platforms, Rajiv Chandrashekhar clearly underlined that in modern India, no religious organization, sect or religious leader can be allowed to impose its will on women’s personal lives, their movement or their social participation. Although during his address he did not directly name any particular religion or specific incident, he expressed deep concern over the fact that even today such conservative and narrow-minded elements are active in the society who want to keep women behind the curtain and push them away from the mainstream of society. Chandrasekhar asserted that it is the inalienable constitutional right of every young girl and woman in Kerala to take her own life decisions without any kind of pressure, religious diktat or political bargaining from any religious leader. They should have complete freedom to lead, move forward and live the life of their choice, because the Constitution does not allow anyone to violate the fundamental rights of the citizens.

Taking on not only the religious organizations but also the mainstream political parties of Kerala on this entire ideological and social issue, Rajeev Chandrasekhar launched a scathing attack on the Congress and the ruling Marxist Communist Party (CPI-M). He seriously accused both the major political parties of practicing appeasement politics for decades. The BJP state chief claimed that Congress and the Left Front, for their political self-interest and vote bank, have always indirectly promoted such backward-thinking and conservative forces, which instead of taking the society towards modernity, want to push women back into medieval darkness. He said that due to this policy of appeasement, today such conservative thoughts and decrees are daring to raise their heads in the society, whereas political parties should rise above their narrow politics and stand openly in favor of women’s respect and their constitutional rights.

Scholars and experts also believe that Article 14 and Article 21 of the Indian Constitution provide every citizen of the country the right to equality and personal liberty, with no room for any kind of discrimination or social control on the basis of gender. The emergence of such conservative appeals in a state with a high literacy rate like Kerala and the increasing political activity on it is an indication that there is still a long distance to go in the direction of social reform and gender equality. This step taken by the BJP chief has given rise to a new debate in the political circles of the state. In the coming days, it will be very interesting to see what stance other political parties and women’s organizations in the state take on this entire episode, but it is clear that this issue of women’s freedom and protection of their constitutional rights will remain at the center of Kerala politics for a long time.