A Muslim woman from an orthodox household in Kerala's Kasaragod district was elected general secretary of her college union as a candidate of SFI, the student arm of the CPI (M), at a time when the hijab dispute is raging in coastal Karnataka.
Ayshath Mahsoona (21), a practising Muslim who wears the hijab, went up against the BJP's student wing ABVP and the Indian Union Muslim League's MSF in a tight race. In the 64-year history of Government College in Kasaragod, Karnataka, she is the first Muslim woman to win the college union election as an SFI candidate.
The Muslim community accounts for 500 of the college's 1,700 students, the majority of whom are women.
Ayshath, whose father is a merchant, spoke forward, “I faced opposition from the Muslim community and the MSF for working with the SFI. The IUML and its outfits campaigned that the Communists are against religion and every Muslims girl should stay with MSF. However, nearly three dozen Muslim girls in the college have now become part of the SFI, daring the orthodox elements”.
Ayshath stated that she was always wary about being involved in Left-wing politics.
She said, “I haven’t so far taken part in any SFI event outside the campus. There is immense pressure from the community against joining hands with the SFI. I wanted to change that mindset and many of my friends are ready to come out of the community’s diktats over political choices”.
Despite their Left-leanings, her parents were terrified of the community, she added. “When I was a class 12 student, I had attended a camp of National Service Scheme, which angered a local Muslim cleric who said no Muslim girl should take part in such events”.
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