Rehana Fathima’s POCSO case: What you need to know as the Kerala High Court rejects the lawsuit
Rehana Fathima, an Indian woman’s rights advocate from Kerala, was charged for violating many POCSO statutes after a video of her young children drawing on her partially exposed body went viral. Further legal action against her has now been rejected by the Kerala High Court.
The judge who oversaw the case and rejected the complaint, Justice Kauser Edappagath, emphasised the importance of bodily autonomy and said that society has numerous double standards for how men and women should behave in relation to their bodies.
The activist received backlash in June 2020 after sharing a video of her two children, an 8-year-old girl, and a 14-year-old boy, painting on her semi-naked body. She said that she engaged in the practise to overcome the stigma associated with women’s bodies and to teach her children about sexuality.
One of the first women to attend the Sabarimala shrine, Fathima, was refused anticipatory bail in the case but was later given conditional bail by a special court.
Fathima was detained for violating sections 13, 14, and 15 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of 2012 (POCSO), as well as Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2015 and Section 67B(d) of the Information Technology Act of 2000, after she uploaded the video of her children painting her breasts online.
While body painting is acceptable for males even during ceremonial festivities like Pulikali and Theyyam, the court reprimanded society for its bias against both men and women who are naked, pointing out that a woman’s nude body is sexualized and viewed as an object of desire.
The court emphasised that the petitioner’s intention in producing and disseminating the film was to call attention to such disparate standards and impart body awareness to her children. The allegations are false, the court further emphasised.
The lawsuit against controversial “activist” Rehana Fathima, which was being heard in the lower court over uploading a video of her kids painting on her half-naked body, was dismissed by the Kerala High Court.
