Rehana Fathima
Rehana Fathima, also known as Suryagayathri, is an Indian women’s rights activist from Kerala. She has a background in telecommunications and modeling, and has participated in various protests against moral policing and sexism. Fathima gained widespread attention in October 2018 when she was one of two women who attempted to enter the Sabarimala temple in Kerala following the Supreme Court's decision to lift the ban on women of menstruating age. She has faced legal consequences for her activism, including arrests for allegedly offensive Facebook posts and a body painting video. She wrote an autobiography named 'Shareeram Samaram Sannidhyam' Early life and education Rehana Fathima Pyarijaan Sulaiman was born into an orthodox Muslim family. Her father Pyarijaan Sulaiman died when she was in Class 12. She has a sister. Fathima completed B.Com and MCA degrees with first rank from Indira Gandhi National Open University. Career Fathima worked as a telecommunications technician with BSNL until May 2020, when she was forced to take compulsory retirement. Fathima also modelled, before becoming a women’s rights activist. Rehana has also acted in a Malayalam film titled 'Eka' written and directed by her husband Manoj K Sreedhar, who is a poet and graduate from Pune film institute. The movie talks about the lives of intersex persons. According to The Quint, "The posters of Eka carried the tagline: ‘I am intersex. I have a penis and vagina by birth. I want to live.’" Activism Kiss of Love protest Fathima and her partner film-maker Manoj K Sreedhar, participated in the 2014 Kiss of Love protest in Kochi against moral policing. Onam tiger mask dance Fathima also participated in the Puli Kali (annual Onam tiger mask dance), a popular event in Thrissur which usually see the attendance of all-male troupes. Sexism protest Scroll.in reports that in March 2018, Fathima joined a protest and "kicked up a social media storm by posting pictures with watermelons covering her breasts in protest against a professor for saying women who did not cover their chests enough showed off their breasts like watermelons in a shop." The Quint reported "The photo received both support and backlash from people, and Facebook took it down after the number of trolls and abusive comments piled up." Sabarimala temple For centuries, females of childbearing age (approx. age 10–50) have been banned from worshipping at the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, India. Some devotees believe that the resident deity is practising celibacy and women who can carry children may sway him from his vow. According to an NDTV article, some feel the denial of entry of women is rooted in the long-standing cultural belief that menstruating women are "impure". In September 2018, after a 20-year legal challenge, the Supreme Court of India lifted the ban. The Quint reported "While pronouncing the judgment, CJI Misra said a woman is not inferior to a man and patriarchy cannot be permitted to win over faith, while Justice Chandrachud said to treat women as children of a lesser god is to blink at the