In a historic move, the Indian Union Muslim League has decided to ensure 20 per cent representation for women in all its affiliated organisations. It is all the more welcome as recently the League had come under criticism from both the Right and the Left for its handling of ‘Haritha’, the women’s wing of its Muslim Students Federation (MSF), after some members went public over gender issues.

The all-male League leadership was even charged with trying to implement, utterly unfairly, Talibanism in Kerala. Women may be discriminated against, their voices ignored, but they are not persecuted by the League. After weeks of dithering and mishandling of the situation, including the disbanding of ‘Haritha’, saner voices have prevailed, with the leadership now deciding to allot 20 per cent reservation for women in all its supporting organisations.

In this context, credit should be given to a few young leaders of ‘Haritha’ who dared to revolt against the party’s male leadership while demanding justice for some of their colleagues. It is unnecessary at present to go into the modus operandi they chose to bring to light the alleged harassment, be it sexual or verbal, meted out to them by their male counterparts.

However, there is no denying the fact that there were some unpleasant instances in the dealings of certain male members of the MSF during their interactions with their female colleagues. There is also no doubt that the IUML leadership should have been more open and sympathetic to the grievances of their women members.

It was a mistake to disband ‘Haritha’ and the IUML leadership should accept the fact that the nine-year-old organisation has engineered a change in the attitude of a 73-year-old political party representing the largest minority community in the country. It is a great achievement.

It would be wise for the party to listen to the words of Fathima Thahiliya who was sacked from the post of MSF vice-president for accusing the party’s leadership of trying to cover up the allegations of sexual harassment.

Thahiliya, who was the first president of ‘Haritha’ when it was formed in 2012, recently told the Indian Express: “Our hands and legs are not tied. I am merely an ordinary member of the IUML now. I take the removal (from the MSF leadership) in a positive manner.” She and like-minded members of the party have vowed to “spearhead a reform movement within the IUML”.

Thahiliya, a law graduate, was speaking on behalf of a group of women, many of them research students and law graduates, who were in the forefront of agitations against the draconian Citizenship Amendment Act that spread like wildfire in campuses across north Kerala. IUML can ignore their presence only at its own peril.

That Thahiliya and company draw inspiration from the legendary communist leader, the late K R Gowri Amma, must be a matter of concern for the IUML leadership. Gowri Amma had dared to challenge the powerful CPM leadership and form her own party, the Janadhipathiya Samrakshana Samithy (JSS), in 1994. JSS may not have posed any threat to CPM, but the party took note of every word that Gowri Amma uttered.

It is from the CPM that the IUML, which is part of the Congress-led United Democratic Front that is in Opposition now, faces the biggest political challenge in its backyard in north Kerala. It was the CPM’s Democratic Youth Federation of India that raised its voice first in support of rebel ‘Haritha’ leaders, sending alarm signals to the IUML leadership.

There is a section in the IUML that believes DYFI played a big role in forcing the League to change its rigid stand against women. MSF backed by ‘Haritha’ had been a big threat to the SFI-DYFI combine in north Kerala colleges. In fact, when fissures occurred in ‘Haritha’ rumour had it that many of the rebel leaders would cross over to the CPM youth wing, something which did not happen to the relief of League leaders.

As of now there are no women representatives in the Youth League or MSF in Kerala. Now there will be at least three women members in the Youth League when it reorganises next month. MSF’s reorganisation is due early next year. The change will be applicable to other feeder organisations too. But the biggest question is about the parent body itself.

When will IUML open the doors of its decision-making bodies fully to women is the question that is doing the rounds in north Kerala. The 100-odd member working committee of the League which unanimously decided on 20 per cent reservation has currently only three women members.

Thahiliya’s words are resounding indeed: “It is very difficult to fight for the cause of women in communities that have a patriarchal mindset.” It is time the Muslim League sheds its misogynistic image.