KOZHIKODE: All eyes are on the CPM to know whether the party will send its representative to the Equality Conference to be held at Ernakulam on October 5 under the aegis of Forum for Gender Equality Among Muslims (FORGEM).
The conference is being organised by a group of Muslim activists who wanted timely reforms in Muslim Personal Law.
As per the programme notice, P K Sreemathi, CPM central committee member and national president of All-India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) will attend the inaugural session. But CPM representatives, including MLA Kanathil Jameela, stayed away from a similar meeting held in Kozhikode in 2022 though they had initially agreed to take part.
It is widely believed that the CPM had decided to keep a distance from the conference not to antagonise a powerful section of conservative Muslims, who are against any change in the personal law.
It remains to be seen whether the changed political equations in the state with regard to Muslim politics will bring any shift in the CPM’s attitude towards reforms in personal law.
The organisers of the conference are confident that Sreemathi will attend the conference.
“Sreemathi told us that she will definitely participate,” said C Shukkur, one of the leading figures of the FORGEM. “CPI leader Annie Raja also will be attending the conference,” he said.
CPM Kannur district committee member Sukanya has shared the poster of the meeting on her Facebook wall.
Dr Khadeeja Mumtaz, the chairperson of the forum, said that the conference is aimed at drumming up support to bring necessary changes in the anti-woman provisions in the Muslim Personal Law.
“We feel that the proposal for the Uniform Civil Code is ill-motivated. If the genuine interest is to address the issues faced by women, it can be done by bringing some changes in Muslim Personal Law,” she said.
Former Madras HC judge Justice K Chandru will inaugurate the conference.