Recent political news from Keralam paint a dim picture of the health of its society, one that deviates totally from the narrative of its being, in the words of the writer J. Devika, “a social development paradise”. A debate was set-off a few weeks ago with the publication of a report by the World Bank, based on a survey by a Keralam-based author, which pointed to the prevalence of misogynistic attitudes among Malayali migrants returning from Saudi Arabia. It must be mentioned that while the empirical strategy adopted in the reported study is smart – in that it compares migrants to Saudi Arabia first with those who had migrated to other parts of the Arabian Gulf and next with those who never migrated – its methodology and findings have been criticised. What, however, is more interesting is the reception it received from the state’s political class. An implication of the findings is that migration has led to the import of a regressive ideology validating the suppression of women’s agency. When asked his view on it, MP Shashi Tharoor was measured in his response, not rushing to condemn but suggesting that the findings must lead to introspection within the Muslim community. Presumably because Saudi Arabia is an Islamic theocracy and the greater part of migrants to that country are Malayali Muslims. Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan was less measured in his response. To a television channel, he dismissed the findings on grounds that Kerala is a “progressive state”. This is no different from Prime Minister Modi’s response, when accosted with the charge of declining civil liberties in the country, that India is actually the “mother of democracy”. Religious conservatism and political equivocationA few days after the release of the report, Keralam witnessed a disturbing development. A leading Islamic cleric objected to Muslim women dancing in public during the Onam festival, with the dictum that they should actually be confined to their homes. Some years ago, the same cleric had stated publicly that women ought not to be allowed to contest elections, a statement that went unchallenged. This time, his proclamation actually led to a public debate, both nationally and within the state, on the role of religious values in a democracy. Now the chief minister’s response was more credible, with him clarifying that the Congress party disagreed totally with the cleric, and that his view had no place in the 21st century. This was followed by some aggressive public debating, which culminated in first information reports (FIRs) being registered against a female TV anchor who had challenged the cleric’s views on women and an Islamic scholar who had opposed her on grounds that she had hurt religious sentiments. The Indian Union Muslim League, was quick to put pressure on its political ally, the Congress, to rescind the FIR against the man. At the time of writing, it is not clear how the standoff will be resolved, but the implication of these developments is there to see. Far from being “a social development paradise”, Keralam harbours sections that want to take it backwards, to a place without equality between the sexes. That many other societies across the world have groups holding such views is no consolation for a state which has been presented as a land of equality. At least the general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), M.A. Baby spoke with clarity when he publicly condemned the cleric’s view as unacceptable in a secular democracy. This is significant, as the cleric in question had been wooed by the Pinarayi Vijayan government, which the former had endorsed politically when it was in power. Satheesan himself was seen to equivocate, however. He met a delegation of Islamic clerics, ostensibly to placate them. There is also an allegation that a reel containing his original statement decrying the cleric’s views, uploaded by the chief minister’s office soon after his statement to the media, was inactivated shortly after. We are told that it has been restored to the web.That a cleric’s views can find traction in a modern democracy is a cause for serious concern. Patriarchal attitudes are not unexpected in a religious society such as India’s, for religion is congealed patriarchy after all, but that avowedly secular political parties entertain those who propound them is unacceptable. Keralam needs to seriously introspect on its commitment to both gender equality and secularism.Misogyny is not restricted to one community or incidentWhile recent events in the state do point to misogynistic attitudes propelled by religion, misogyny in Keralam has an independent existence, rooted in its culture and spanning all religious groups. This is apparent when we examine the presence of women in public life. The state records among the lowest participation rates for women in governance. Be it the judiciary or the legislature, the prime organs of a state, Kerala’s record is abysmal with the percentage of women in the state assembly being less than 10%, which is lower than the national average. On last count, the percentage of women judges in the high court of Gujarat, a state to which Keralam is routinely compared, was twice that in the state.Finally, the V.D. Satheesan cabinet too has a less than 10% representation of women ministers, who, furthermore, have been left with the less sought-after portfolios. Satheesan had, early in his tenure as chief minister, proclaimed himself to be a “Nehruvian socialist”, and would presumably vouch for a commitment to social justice. The data on women’s representation in governance attains significance as Kerala is one of the few states in India where women outnumber men.A narrative common to all political parties of Keralam is that the state’s development is being held back by a hostile central government. Of course, it is the case that, by and large, Keralam’s public contests the vision for India held by the Modi government and the latter is aware of this. However, the denial of women’s agency is not something imposed on Kerala from the outside. It is endemic to its social structure.A truly secular state must disable patriarchyIn the sphere of governance, a gender imbalance can be rectified by political parties choosing to give as many seats to women as men, and refusing to entertain misogynistic views of religious leaders in the name of an “Indian secularism”. This innovation, defined as “equal respect for all religions”, is, actually, the source of the problem, as it panders to religion-based prejudice. A truly secular and democratic state would keep religion at bay in governance, and liberate Indians from the stranglehold of the priesthood of all religions. India’s political parties generally do the exact opposite.There are, however, limits to how much a state can do to empower subjugated groups in a society. Worldwide, community leaders from B.R. Ambedkar to those of the Afro-Americans during the civil rights movement in the United States have exhorted their followers that agency ultimately comes from standing-up for your cause. It is unlikely that patriarchy in Keralam, with its restriction of women’s freedom, will disappear through an epiphany visited upon its political parties.Only a women’s movement, led by women, can deliver that.Pulapre Balakrishnan is Honorary Visiting Professor, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, and lives in Keralam