'Disturbing': Shashi Tharoor flags report findings on 'conservative values' in Kerala's Saudi returnees

The study shared by Tharoor finds that migrants returning from Saudi Arabia tend to exhibit “conservative values”, mentioning “gender-based violence”.

Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor on Monday flagged what he referred to as a “disturbing” report on residents from Kerala who are Saudi Arabia returnees.

The 2022 World Bank study shared by Tharoor finds that migrants returning from Saudi Arabia tend to exhibit “conservative values”, specifically mentioning “gender-based violence” and “extremist attitudes” on physical violence towards women.

While the Congress MP sought introspection on the report, saying the findings were in contrast to Kerala's “liberal, progressive practice of Islam”, he later clarified that he was “not seeking anything from anybody" and his posts reflect his individual thoughts.

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‘Requires serious introspection and internal discussion’: What Tharoor said

Tharoor, in his post, said Kerala had long witnessed coexistence and communal harmony, adding that the state was “proud” of educating girls to the same level as boys.

“These are disturbing reports. Kerala has long been host to a liberal, progressive practice of Islam, fully in tune with the coexistence and communal harmony prevalent across the state,” Tharoor said. He added, “Kerala is proud of its record of educating Muslim girls and women to the same levels as boys and men.”

He said that the “import of conservative and even reactionary attitudes and customs from abroad”, as had been highlighted by the World Bank report, was “fundamentally at variance with what Kerala has long been about.” Tharoor called for “serious introspection” on the matter and urged an “internal discussion within the Muslim community as well.”

However, when asked about the study later, Tharoor said his post was a “reflection” of “what interests” him individually and was made to draw attention of the people so that they can “think about it.”

“I am not seeking anything from anybody. My tweets are also reflections of what interests me intellectually. Therefore, I draw the attention of people so that people think about it,” he told reporters, according to ANI news agency.

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What does the World Bank study say?

The study, published in 2022, examined the impact of return migration from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf on the transfer of gender norms to Kerala. It said that while the above migration had “led to significant remittance flows and economic prosperity”, its impact on social norms had been largely unexplored.

“The paper finds that returning migrants from Saudi Arabia tend to exhibit conservative values regarding gender-based violence and extreme attitudes pertaining to the perpetration of physical violence against women,” the study said. It added that when compared to those who had no migration experience, the attitudes of those returning from Saudi Arabia “toward gender-based violence were more conservative by three standard deviations” and the attitudes of those returning from the Gulf were “less conservative by 0.5 standard deviation.”

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