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A day after slamming a Muslim scholar who allegedly reprimanded organisers of an event in Malappuram for inviting a girl on stage to receive a reward, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Thursday said he was 'disappointed' by the silence of the political, social and economic leadership of the country on the issue.
He also said he was sad at the silence of the leadership in Kerala.
"I am so deeply disappointed that the whole political leadership is silent about it. And not just the political leadership, even the others are silent about it. I appeal to the national leadership of every party to come forward and protect the honour and dignity of our daughters," Khan said while speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.
"I believe I have said much more (than them)," he said of the silence of the leadership in the state.
When a reporter pointed out that the person in question was a leader of Samastha which has around 10,000 madrasas in Kerala, Khan responded that their numbers did not matter in a democracy or rule of law and it was not going to make him suppress his conscience.
"They might be having a hundred thousand madrasas. But because of their strength, I am not going to keep my conscience suppressed. They might be very powerful, but they have no right to humiliate, to insult and to offend the modesty of a young talented girl.
"They might have any number, these numbers do not matter. You are in a democracy, in a rule of law. Be you ever so high, the law is above you. This is not merely a violation of the clear cut commands of the Qur'an. It is clear cut violations of the provisions of the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution," Khan said.
The incident occurred during the inauguration of a 'madrassa' building in Malappuram district, where students were felicitated recently.
The memento was handed over to the girl by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader Panakkad Sayed Abbas Ali Shihab Thangal.
Soon after the award was handed over, Muslim scholar M T Abdullah Musaliyar questioned the organisers as to why the girl was invited on stage.
"Who invited a Class 10 girl to the stage? If you do this again... Don't call such girls here. Don't you know the rules of Samastha? Were you the one who called her? Ask her parents to come to the stage to collect the award. Don't do such things while we are sitting here. This will appear in photos and be telecast," a visibly angry Musaliyar was seen telling the organisers, while Thangal was standing next to him.
The person who announced the name of the girl was seen apologising to Musaliyar.
Taking to Twitter to express his displeasure, Khan on Wednesday had tweeted, 'Sad to know that a young talented girl was humiliated on stage in Malappuram district while receiving a well deserved award simply because she was born into a Muslim family.'
'This is yet another example of how Muslim clerics continue to push hard Muslim women into seclusion and suppress their personality in total defiance of Qur'anic commands and provisions of the Constitution,' he had said.