She recalls that the media there was surprised to see a hijabi powerlifter from India — Indonesia , a Muslim-majority country , has no hijabi sportswomen .
“ The hijab is not an obstacle ,” Bhanu says firmly . However , the atmosphere in Kerala tells a different story . Around the time Bhanu hit the headlines , a Muslim professor at Farook Training College in her home district publicly acc used his students of not wearing the hijab properly , saying they displayed their chests like watermelon slices . It stirred a hornets ’ nest , even triggering a bare-chested campaign on social media by women , including a Muslim . Police registered a case against the professor following a complaint by a girl from the college . But the state ’ s Muslim organisations , des pite their differences , united to support him .
And just three months prior , the hijab had been in the eye of ano ther storm in Kerala . In December , three hijabi girls participated in a flash mob in the heart of Muslimdominated Mal a- ppuram , inviting an avalanche of cyber - attacks . The girls , students at a dental college , were called a “ sign of doomsday ”, “ firewood in hell ,” “ curse to religion ” etc . Incidentally , Bhanu is also a dental student , currently in her final year .
Jazla Madasseri , another hijabi , took part in a flash mob at the International Film Festival of Kerala in Thirvunanthapuram in solidarity with the dental students , inviting even more cyber-attacks . “ Their problem is not that a Muslim girl is dancing ; it is that she is dancing in a headscarf ,” she says . Jazla also drew the ire of fundamentalists when , in a Facebook Live , she questioned a well-known Muslim cleric of the region who said women would indulge in illicit affairs if they were allowed to take up jobs . The same cleric had earlier asked Muslim women to support polygamy . He and several other clerics are hugely popular in the area despite ( rather , for ) the misogynistic remarks in their sermons . “ I will break your jaw if you come in front of me ,” Jazla warned him in her video .
V . P . Suhra , head of Nisa (‘ woman ’ in Arabic ), an organisation fighting for the rights of Muslim women , says there is an organised attempt to suppress Muslim women ’ s voices . She warns , “ You may find women affiliated with Moududi and Salafi organisations speaking in the public sphere for Muslim women ’ s rights . But make no mistake — they are equally regressive , if not more .”
“ At Nisa , we see more and more Muslim women now coming out to raise issues pertaining to divorce , property rights and so on ,” she says . Recently , Kerala also saw a Muslim woman leading Friday prayers — the first such instance in India .
Suhra cites Jazla , Aznia Ashmin , V . P Rajeena , Najma Nishad and others as young women who have fought hardliners . Ashmin , a law student and the voice in the viral song Maheele pembillere kandikka , app roached the police when she was targeted for posting a hijab-less picture of herself on Facebook . Rajeena , a
Misogynistic clerics are popular . One says working women are adulterous — and also advocates polygamy . journalist , wrote on Facebook about how she and her clas smates had been vict ims of paedophiles at a Kozh i- kode madrasa . Najma stood her ground against the fan atics who tried to stop her documentary project .
When Outlook spoke to some of these women , it became clear that most had memories of gender discrimination simmering in their minds since childhood , and had studied religion ind ependently in depth at some point . “ Our stories got noticed because they were reported in media . You can find similar stories if you speak to any Muslim girl who thinks and acts slightly out of the religious framework ,” Ashmin told Outlook . It was also true for Thahir Mohammed Sayyed , the Indian con testant in the Mr Gay World competition in South Africa in 2015 , who was forced to withdraw from the contest after his family in Kerala received threats from the community .
Bhanu , for her part , says she has not yet received any direct threat .
“ I ’ m still the only competition-oriented woman in my coaching and fitness centres ,” she concludes . Since she came into the limelight , she has been getting calls to inaugurate gyms . “ I hope girls here will now start going to gyms .” O
18 June 2018 OUTLOOK 59
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