KOCHI: Highlighting the hypocrisy of the political parties when it comes to issues faced by the Christian community, the editorial of the latest edition of Sathyadeepam — a weekly published by the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese — says there is not even a mention of the ongoing war in Ukraine at the Palestine solidarity meets being held in the state. That shows the war in Ukraine has not affected Kerala’s public consciousness, the editorial says.
“This is really scary,” the Sathyadeepam editorial says. The piece questions the strategy of the political parties that remain mum over this particular issue even when they were very vocal during the Sabarimala women-entry issue citing Renaissance.
The editorial wonders whether it was just a coincidence that the news of Rayyanah Barnawi, who became the first Saudi woman to go to space on May 21, 2023, did not make any headlines among the women readers in the Muslim community.
“Also, it can be seen that the honouring of Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi with the Nobel prize didn’t elicit any sort of joyous response from among the Muslim women in the state,” the editorial says. Their silence that rings loud not only over this but also in the case of the killings of young girls during the ‘Say No to Hijab’ hints at a serious problem, the editorial says.
“In this post-truth era where modernity is definitely in an opportunistic way, the memory of Fathima Beevi, who upheld secularism in her thoughts and the judiciary, should be kept alive,” it says.
Extolling the achievements of the late Justice Fathima Beevi, the editorial touches on how she overcame various hurdles including that of being from a conservative community back when it was a tough thing to do. She not only broke the strong fences erected by religious traditions but also challenged patriarchal rules, the editorial says.