Meet Rehana Fathima, the activist who won ‘nudity’ case in Kerala high court I SriLanka Latest News

Rehana Fathima, a Kerala-based activist, on Monday got relief in a POCSO case as the high court acquitted her emphasising that the right of autonomy over one’s body is often denied to the fairer sex and they are bullied, discriminated against, isolated and persecuted for making choices about their bodies and lives.
In 2020, a video of Fathima went viral, showing her partially nude with paintings done by her minor children on her body. Subsequently, she was arrested and her bail applications were repeatedly denied.

Who is Rehana Fathima?

  1. In her appeal in the Kerala high court, Rehana Fathima had asserted that the body painting was meant as a political statement against the default view of society that the naked upper body of the female is sexualised in all contexts, whereas the naked male upper body is not treated to this default sexualisation.
  2. Earlier, the woman was also booked by police in Pathanamthitta district under the Information Technology Act and the Juvenile Justice Act on a complaint lodged by BJP OBC Morcha leader AV Arun Prakash.
  3. Fathima was also in the news after she had attempted to enter the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala after the Supreme Court allowed women of menstruating age to do so, and was targeted by certain groups for it.
  4. This, however, was not the first time Fathima has captured headlines. In 2014, she had participated in the controversial ‘Kiss of love’ protest in Kochi against moral policing along with her partner Manoj K Sreedhar.
  5. Earlier, she had sought to challenge bastions of male dominance by taking part in the annual Onam tiger dance (Pulikali), a popular event in Thrissur which usually sees the attendance of all-male troupes.
  6. Fathima was born into an orthodox Muslim family which required her to attend classes at a madrassa and offer namaz five times a day. But post her father’s death, Fathima has said her concept of religion changed dramatically.

What is the Kerala high court say?

  1. While discharging Fathima, Kerala high court Justice Kauser Edappagath on Monday said from the allegations against the 33-year-old activist, it was not possible to anyone to infer that her children were used for any real or simulated sexual acts and that too for sexual gratification.
  2. The court said she only allowed her body to be used as a canvas for her children to paint on.
  3. The judge said it was “harsh” to term such an “innocent artistic expression” as a usage of a child in a real or simulated sexual act. “There is nothing to show that the children were used for pornography. There is no hint of sexuality in the video. Painting on the naked upper body of a person, whether a man or a woman, cannot be stated to be a sexually explicit act,” the court said.
  4. It further said that nude display of the upper body of men is never considered obscene or indecent and is not sexualised, but “a female body is not treated in the same way”.
  5. The court added that there were some who consider female nudity as taboo and only meant for erotic purposes and the intention behind the video circulated by Fathima was to “expose this double standard prevailing in society”. “Nudity should not be tied to sex. The mere sight of the naked upper body of the woman should not be deemed to be sexual by default. So also, the depiction of the naked body of a woman cannot per se be termed to be obscene, indecent, or sexually explicit,” Justice Edappagath said.

Source: hindustantimes.com

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