Tamilagam controversy: ‘They may also believe Avvaiyar lived for centuries’, says Kanimozhi

CHENNAI:  Getting on to the ‘Tamilagam controversy’ bandwagon, DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi took a jibe at Governor RN Ravi, saying those who believe in Tamilagam might also believe that Avvaiyar lived for several centuries. “However, when we are looking at it from Tamil Nadu perspective, it is only possible that different women writers living in different centuries were called by the same name,” she said.

Speaking on the topic of ‘Women in Tamil Society’ at the Chennai Literary Festival held at Anna Centenary Library, Kanimozhi said there are two opposing views on how women were treated in the state.
“From the relics found at Keezhadi and the stories of women like Kannagi, who questioned the king on the injustice meted out to her husband, we could see that women were celebrated and given rights. However, we have to take into consideration that Kannagi was not able to question her husband even though she rejected performing rituals to get him back,” she said. 

The MP said, even today, when there is a crime against woman, the first reaction of the society will be blaming her and questioning her choice of clothes, going out late and others. “Domestic violence is also being normalised. According to NCRB data, there are 4.28 lakh cases of violence against women and 107 cases of acid attacks.

Even in movies, there are attempts to justify acid attacks stating they are acts of extreme love. Data also show violence against women has increased during the pandemic,” she said.
“To improve the status of women, there should be changes in society, education, art forms and also how we converse. There should be a conscious effort for that change,” she added.