India, Aug. 31 -- Kerala grand mufti Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad has triggered a fresh controversy after saying women should remain within their homes and should not enter the public sphere.

Speaking at the Hubbul Rasool conference in Kochi, the cleric, also known as Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar, defended the purdah system and said it was intended to protect women's dignity.

He compared women with gold ornaments that, he said, need to be kept safely inside a box, arguing that bringing women into public life could result in "great destruction".

He maintained that such restrictions were not intended to diminish women but rather to honour and protect them.

During his speech, Kanthapuram illustrated his argument through an analogy involvin...