Pavithran Theekkuni recalls poem on purdah

KOZHIKODE: Pro-Left poet Pavithran Theekkuni has withdrawn a poem on purdah (veil) from the Facebook allegedly following threats from fundamentalists.
He had written a poem of 15 short lines on the Facebook on Monday in which he used the imageries of Africa which has been holed in its mines and the tongues that were detached from freedom. But he withdrew it the next day with an explanatory note saying that the poem seems to have offended some of his friends, and hence he was withdrawing it.

However, the withdrawal triggered an uproar on social media. While a section said the poet should not have withdrawn it, another said the poet had a misplaced notion of the attire.  Some of his friends opined that there could be possible threats against him for the poem. Mr Theekkuni was not available for comments and his phone was switched off. “If there is a threat and a writer is not able to express his thoughts through any medium, it is intolerance and intruding into one’s freedom of expression,” writer Dr Khadeeja Mumthaz, who is also the vice-president of Kerala Sahithya Akademi, said. “Pavithran has the same right to write about purdah as a Muslim woman has the right to wear it.” She said the women who claim to have been wearing it of their ‘choice’ are brainwashed to reach that conclusion.