Activist Rehana Fathima's Facebook account quite simply says "break the rules" where one is supposed to write a description. Below that, in Malayalam, she adds that one should either "change the rules yourself, or change yourself". And if one looks at her track record, Fathima certainly seems to live up to this description.
The former BSNL employee who found herself under severe media scrutiny after attempting to enter Kerala's Sabarimala temple has gone against the grain on many occasions. Most recently, she posted a video of her children painting a phoenix onto her body.
Below, we've put together a list of five times when activist Rehana Fathima sparked a controversy.
1. Last week, Fathima shocked many after posting a short video on YouTube where her children can be seen painting her topless body. The short clip shows two children painting a phoenix onto Fathima's torso as she lays on her back. She sports only a pair of shorts. Following this, she was booked by the Thiruvalla police.
2. In 2018, after the Supreme Court had permitted women of a menstruating age to enter the Sabarimala temple, the Kerala based activist had made an attempt to do so. With many devotees vehemently against the SC verdict, she had been unable to enter the shrine. Citing the black garb she had worn for the trek, a complaint had also been filed against her. On November 27, 2018, she had been arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. Later, she had said that the incident had led BSNL to ask her to retire from the company.
3. A year before the Sabarimala row, the Kerala-based activist had kicked up quite a storm by posing topless with watermelons on her hands. She had been part of a movement of sorts, reportedly protesting against a rather derogatory statement by a Kozhikode-based college professor who had compared students breasts to 'sliced watermelons'.
4. Fathima had been a part of the ‘Kiss of Love’ movement in 2014. This was a movement in Kochi, allegedly against moral policing.
5. She was among the first women to participate in a traditionally male festive dance called Thrissur pulikali. She took part in the Onam tiger dance that is usually performed by men in 2016.
6. While not a controversy in the same way as the other points on this list, Fathima has acted in a movie about intersexuality. As per its IMDB page, it is based on true incidents and is the "first Indian movie to discuss the Intersex gender". The movie is banned in India.
