Rehana Fathima

Rehana Fathima is a women’s rights activist from Kerala.[1][2][3]

Rehana Fathima
Born
AS Fathima

(1986-05-30) 30 May 1986
Kochi, Kerala , India
NationalityIndian
Other namesSurya Gayatri
Education+2
Home townPanampilly Nagar, Kochi, Kerala
Partner(s)Manoj K Sreedhar
Children2

Early life and background

Rehana Fathima Pyarijaan Sulaiman was born into an orthodox Muslim family[4] on 30 May 1986. Her father Pyarijaan Sulaiman died when she was in Class 12.[2] She has a sister. Fathima completed B.Com and MCA degrees with first rank from Indira Gandhi National Open University. She believes in Tat Tvam Asi. Rehana Fathima's other name is Surya Gayatri.[5][6] She has two children with her husband Manoj and worked as a telecommunications technician with BSNL until May 2020,[7] when she was forced to take compulsory retirement.[8][9] Fathima also modelled, before becoming a women’s rights activist.[1] Rehana has also acted in a Malayalam film titled ‘Eka’ written and directed by her husband Manoj K Sreedhar, who is an award winning poet and graduate from Pune film institute. The movie talks about the lives of intersex persons.[2][10]

Rehana Fathima (woman artist) with body art with her male colleagues celebrating the Hindu festival of Puli Kali in the streets of Kerala in 2016.

Rehana also sought to challenge bastions of male dominance by taking part in the Puli Kali (annual Onam tiger mask dance),[11] a popular event in Thrissur which usually see the attendance of all-male troupes.[12]

Controversy

Fathima and her partner film-maker Manoj K Sreedhar, participated in the controversial 2014 Kiss of Love protest in Kochi against moral policing.[13]

In 2018, when a Muslim male assistant professor Jauhar Munnavir T of Farook Training College, Kozhikode compared women’s breasts to watermelons indirectly complaining that Muslim women do not dress properly,[14] Fathima responded by posting a bare-chested photo covering her breasts with just watermelons.[15] While the photo was hailed by many as a fitting answer to the sexist male professor, it also caused others to question the activist’s work by attracting attention through nudity.[16]

In October 2018, during movement of Entry of women to Sabarimala, Fathima was arrested on grounds of 'hurting religious sentiments' for posting a photo in Facebook, in which she was seen sitting in an allegedly 'obscene pose' after dressing up as a devotee of Ayyappa.[17] She was in jail for 18 days and is now out on bail.[18]

In June 2020, Fathima posted a video of her semi-nude body on her social media platforms showing her two minor children,[19] a boy and a girl, which sparked a massive outrage.[20][21] The high court of Kerala denied her anticipatory bail application in The POCSO case against Rehana Fathima,[22][23] after which she filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court against the high court’s decision.[24] In August 2020 The supreme court of India denied anticipatory bail application by Rehana Fathima and quoted that she is Spreading Obscenity using social media. [25]

In 8th of August 2020 Rehana fathima surrendered before the circle inspector of police Eranakulam City as the supreme court denied her anticipatory bail application. Later she was sent to prison. [26]


References
  1. "Rehana Fathima: Women's rights activist who's no stranger to controversy".
  2. "Meet Kerala's topless feminist".
  3. "Shane Nigam to Rehana Fathima: Here's the list of celebrities who can be expected in Bigg Boss Malayalam 2".
  4. "Activist Rehana Fathima climbs down from Sabarimala, but this was another bid to break the glass ceiling".
  5. "Who is Rehana Fathima?".
  6. "'Sabarimala protestors are using my Muslim name to fan communal fires,' says activist Rahana Fathima".
  7. "BSNL asks ex-employee Rehana Fathima to vacate quarters for 'tarnishing firm's image'".
  8. "BSNL orders compulsory retirement for Kerala activist Rehana Fathima over Sabarimala incident".
  9. "BSNL forces employee Rehana Fathima who tried to enter Sabarimala to accept voluntary retirement".
  10. "Untold tale of intersexuality".
  11. "It's high time we stopped considering nudity vulgar: Rehana Fathima".
  12. "Meet Rehana Fathima, the Woman Under Police Protection After Trying to Enter Sabarimala".
  13. "Activist Rehana Fathima climbs down from Sabarimala, but ..."
  14. "'Muslim girls display chests like sliced melons': Kerala Muslim professor slammed for sexist reemarks".
  15. "'My body, my right': 2 Kerala women post bare-chested pics on social media".
  16. "Rehana Fathima, expelled from community for trying to enter Sabarimala, is no stranger to controversies".
  17. "Sabarimala: India activist held for 'explicit' thigh photo". BBC.
  18. "The long climb: As 2 women enter Sabarimala temple, a look back at others who tried". News minute. 3 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  19. "Nudity need not bee tied to sex".
  20. "Kerala Activist Seeks Anticipatory Bail From Court In Semi-Nude Post Case".
  21. "Rehana Fathima booked for video of her children painting on social media".
  22. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/cant-agree-with-rehana-fathima-says-hc-denies-anticipatory-bail/articleshow/77156098.cms
  23. https://tv.mathrubhumi.com/en/news/kerala/rf-1.52172
  24. "Rehana Fathima's Struggle Against Gender Stereotypes Should Be Celebrated, Not Punished".
  25. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/top-court-rejects-kerala-activists-rehana-fathima-bail-plea-over-semi-nude-online-post-2275753
  26. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/body-art-activist-rehana-fathima-surrenders-in-keralas-ernakulam/articleshow/77433059.cms
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