Kerala - Malappuram   

Women to lead Jamaat poll foray

To the forefront: A section of the crowd at the Kerala Women’s Conference organised by the Jamaat-e-Islami on the banks of the Bharathapuzha at Kuttippuram on Sunday.

MALAPPURAM: The Jamaat-e-Islami has moved a step closer to fielding its candidates in the coming local body elections by mobilising a mass movement of Muslim women in the State.

The Kerala Women’s Conference held on the banks of the Bharathapuzha at Kuttippuram on Sunday evening marked the culmination of a month-long campaign conducted by the women’s wing of the organisation aimed at bringing Muslim women out of the confines of their homes to the political front.

Jamaat leaders hinted that the organisation would field its women members in the September elections. Half the seats in local bodies are reserved for women.

“We do not want to miss out this opportunity. We will plunge in when others watch,” said a senior Jamaat leader requesting anonymity.

He said it was the realisation that the organisation could be expanded and strengthened by influencing women that prompted the Jamaat to conduct the Kuttippuram conference.

“It’s a conference of the women, by the women and for the women,” said K.K. Fathima Zuhara, president of the women’s wing.

The Jamaat has been mobilising its women force during the past few months in a well-planned fashion, organising public and family meetings, Id gatherings, seminars, symposiums, and children’s meetings.

Women, in purdah and mafta, took to graffiti writing, pasting posters, raising banners and making vehicle announcements.

“A woman should get the status she deserves. Empowering women is the only way out. This conference is to raise the banner of women power for social revolution,” Ms. Zuhara said.

The Jamaat move has acquired significance especially because of its timing, with a few months to the local body elections. It is said that the Jamaat women, with the familial and social network they have woven in the last few months, may eat into the traditional vote banks of political parties. However, some party leaders chose to ignore the Jamaat move, pointing out that an organisation such as that can hardly make any dent in the traditional vote banks.

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