‘Women won’t be safe without Sharia’: Maulana Sajid Rashidi backs controversial remarks on women
All India Imam Association chief Maulana Mohammad Sajid Rashidi has backed controversial remarks by Aboobacker Musliyar on women, arguing that women’s safety cannot be ensured until Islamic laws are implemented in Bharat.
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All India Imam Association president Maulana Mohammad Sajid Rashidi has sparked controversy with his remarks on women, marriage, sexual violence and the need for Islamic laws in Bharat.
Rashidi was speaking in support of remarks made by Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar on women. During his statement, Rashidi said that keeping daughters safe had become a major challenge for parents and argued that the situation could not be addressed without stricter laws.
Maulana Sajid Rashidi who has made controversial remarks on women (Image: News Laundry)
Rashidi said there had been a concerted effort to bring girls out of their homes and into the workforce in the name of "freedom and equality". He criticised the idea that women should work alongside men and enter every field.
#WATCH | Delhi: On Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar’s remarks on women, All India Imam Association President, Maulana Sajid Rashidi says, "...until Islamic laws are implemented in the country, women will not be safe..."
— ANI (@ANI) August 31, 2026
He says, "...keeping one's daughter safe amidst these… pic.twitter.com/gZiWNa59Ln
According to Rashidi, these ideas had been promoted by people who wanted women to leave their homes and, in his words, ultimately become "prey" under the guise of freedom.
He argued that women should remain at home, manage the household, look after children and make proper use of the money earned by their husbands.
Rashidi also presented a traditional division of roles between men and women. He said men were created physically stronger and were intended to go outside the home, face hardships, earn a living and provide for their wives and children.
He questioned what was wrong with such an arrangement and said that following these roles would help ensure women's safety.
Rashidi links delayed marriage to rape cases
Rashidi also made controversial comments about marriage and sexual crimes. He argued that delayed marriages among girls contribute to the increase in rape cases.
He said that early marriage was one way to address the concerns surrounding women's safety, while also calling for strict punishment for those responsible for sexual violence.
Rashidi said Islamic laws contain strict provisions to deal with sexual crimes and argued that such laws, or at least severe punishment for perpetrators, were needed.
He went further and said that "until Islamic laws are implemented in the country, women will not be safe."
His remarks have faced criticism, with many arguing that sexual violence is the responsibility of the offender and that women's clothing, employment, independence or age at marriage should not be presented as causes of rape.
“Women go outside their home,so they get raped.”-Writing exams causes failure,so stop giving exam.-Owning phone causes theft,so stop using phone.-Having money causes robbery,so stay poor.Funny how“solution”is always to restrict women,not to hold perpetrator accountable.
— Adviti (@DixitAdviti) September 2, 2026
BJP MP rejects Sharia law demand
Reacting to Rashidi's statement, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Sharma said that advising parents to marry their daughters at an early age would not stop sexual crimes.
Sharma said the focus should instead be on punishing criminals according to the law.
He also rejected the demand for Sharia law, saying that Bharat will be governed by the Constitution and not Sharia law. He said citizens have the freedom to practise their respective religions, but the country will have one criminal law applicable to everyone.
The remarks by Rashidi have therefore triggered a wider debate over women's freedom, early marriage, sexual violence, punishment for offenders and the role of religious laws within India's constitutional and legal framework.