Rehana Fathima: Wiki, Biography, Age, Family, Siblings, Religion: Rehana Fathima AKA Suryagayathri is an Indian women’s rights activist from Kerala. She has a backdrop in telecommunications and modelling and has experienced different demonstrations against ethical policies and sexism. Fathima achieved overall concentration in October 2018 when she was one of two women who tried to join the Sabarimala temple in Kerala following the Supreme Court’s conclusion to raise the prohibition on women of puberty age.
She has encountered lawful influences for her activism, including detentions for allegedly vicious Facebook posts and a body painting video.
Rehana Fathima Family, Parents, Siblings
Rehana Fathima Pyarijaan Sulaiman was born into an orthodox Muslim family. Her father Pyarijaan Sulaiman expired when she was in Class 12. She also has a sister.
Rehana Fathima Qualification, Education, & Career
Fathima finished B.Com and MCA degrees and got the first rank from Indira Gandhi National Open University. BSNL compelled Fathima to take mandatory retirement in May 2020, while she was employed as a telecommunications technician with them.
Fathima also pursued modelling, before becoming a women’s rights activist. Rehana’s spouse, Manoj K Sreedhar, wrote and directed the Malayalam movie named ‘Eka,’ in which Rehana also acted. He is a professional poet. He is a graduate of the Pune film institute. This movie was about the lives of intersex people. 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.”
Rehana Fathima Kiss of Love Protest
Fathima and her husband film-maker Manoj K Sreedhar, took part in the Kiss of Love protest in Kochi against moral policing in the year 2014.
Rehana Fathima 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.
Rehana Fathima Sexism Protest
In March 2018, Fathima participated in a protest that gained significant attention on social media. During the protest, she posted pictures of herself with watermelons covering her breasts. The reason behind her actions was to express her dissatisfaction with a professor’s remarks. This professor had made a controversial statement, implying that women who didn’t cover their chests adequately were akin to displaying their breasts like watermelons in a shop.
Fathima’s act of using watermelons as a symbol was her way of challenging and condemning the professor’s sexist comments. As a result of her unique and bold form of protest, she managed to create a “social media storm,” drawing widespread attention to the issue of body shaming and objectification of women.
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.”
Rehana Fathima Sabarimala Temple
For centuries, the authorities at the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, India, have banned females of childbearing age (approx. age 10–50) from worshipping. Some devotees believe that the resident deity is practising celibacy and that 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 are to blink at the Constitution itself.”
As per Scroll’s report from October 2018, Fathima, along with another woman of menstruating age, came close to becoming the first woman to enter the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, following the Supreme Court’s decision to allow women of all ages to pray there. The attempt to enter the temple was made under the protection of eighty police officers in riot gear. However, their path was obstructed by a group of approximately 300 individuals at the sacred steps to the shrine. Subsequently, The Quint, The News Minute, and India Today covered the incident, stating that Fathima’s home was vandalized following the event.
Rehana Fathima’s Arrest
In November 2018, BBC News reported Fathima was arrested and detained for fourteen days after police received complaints about an October 2018 selfie she posted on Facebook. According to BBC News, the picture “showed her dressed in black (the colour most Lord Ayyappa devotees wear), her forehead smeared with sandalwood paste in the Hindu tradition, and her knees pulled up in front to mimic the classic Ayyappa pose”, and the complaints received by the police included that the photograph “was ‘sexually explicit’ and ‘wounded the religious feelings of Lord ayyappa’s devotees.’
Solar Flame Lamp pic.twitter.com/UPG0SyzyfP
— Rehana Fathima (@rehanafathimaas) May 9, 2023
BBC News reported Fathima’s friend Arathy said Fathima did not intend to hurt religious sentiments or be sexual or offensive, and asked, “What about the men who go to Sabarimala bare-chested or expose their thighs? How come that’s not outrageous?”
Rehana Fathima’s Body Painting Video
In June 2020, Fathima was arrested after posting a video that The Times of India described as depicting “getting her pre-adolescent son to paint on her nude torso.” Press Trust of India reported that in her bail plea to the court, she “said the allegations prima facie would not constitute any offense punishable which are non-bailable in nature,” and stated “she was an activist who has been fighting a battle against body discrimination,” and “that there needs to be openness so far as the discussion on body and body parts are concerned.” According to the Mumbai Mirror, the video was titled ‘Body and Politics’.
The high court of Kerala denied her anticipatory bail application in The POCSO case against Rehana Fathima, after which she filed a special leave petition in the supreme court against the high court’s decision.
In August 2020 The supreme court of India denied an anticipatory bail application by Rehana Fathima and quoted that she is spreading obscenity using social media. On 8 August 2020, Rehana Fathima surrendered before the circle inspector of Ernakulam Town South’s police as the supreme court denied her anticipatory bail application.
Rehana Fathima’s “Gomatha Ularthu” Video
In November 2020, the Hindustan Times reported that Kerala High Court ordered Rehana Fathima to not use the word “gomatha” (a common reference to holy or sacred cows) as a synonym for beef, because “If it is so believed by several lakhs of Hindus throughout the country, definitely, the use of the term gomatha as a synonym for meat used in a cookery show, prima facie, is likely to wound the religious feelings of those believers,” according to the court. Fathima was heard repeatedly referring to meat as “gomatha” after she posted a cooking video on social media in May 2020 titled “Gomatha Ulurthu” and referred to beef as “gomatha”.
In February 2021, the Supreme Court granted a partial stay to the Kerala High Court order that restrained Fathima “from publishing, transmitting, sharing, uploading or disseminating any material or comments through any public visual and electronic media, but directed that the prohibition on spreading any comment that may affect religious sentiments will continue,” according to The Indian Express.
Rehana Fathima’s other name is Surya Gayatri. She has two children with her partner Manoj. In January 2021, Fathima’s ex-partner, Manoj K. Sreedhar said that he and Fathima were separating.
Information Table About Rehana Fathima
| Name | Rehana Fathima |
| Nickname | Not Known |
| Gender | Female |
| Profession | Social Activist & Model |
| Height (approx.) | in meters- Not Known
in feet inches- 5’7″ |
| Weight (approx.) | in kilograms- 62 kg
in pounds- Not Known |
| Figure Measurements (approx.) | 33-27-35 |
| Eye Colour | Dark Brown |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Date of Birth | 30 May 1986 |
| Age (as of 2023) | 37 Years Old |
| Birth Place | Kochi, Kerela, India |
| Zodiac sign/Sun sign | Gemini |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Not Known |
| School | Government Higher Secondary School, Ernakulam |
| College/University | Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) |
| Educational Qualification | Graduate |
| Religion | Islam |
| Ethnicity | Not Known |
| Caste | Not Known |
| Address | Not Known |
| Hobbies/Interests | Not Known |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Affairs/Boyfriends/Girlfriends | Not Known |
| Sexuality | Straight |
| Parents | Father: Mr. Pyarijaan Sulaiman
Mother: Mrs Sulaiman |
| Siblings | Not Known |
| Former Husband/Wife/Spouse | Manoj Sreedharan |
| Children | Two |
| Net Worth | $2.8 Billion |
Social Media Handles
Lesser Known Facts About Rehana Fathima
- In 2014, this activist actively participated in a movement called “Kiss of Love,” wherein couples exchanged kisses in a public place.
- More than 35k people subscribed to her YouTube account.
- The Kerala High Court cleared Rehana Fathima of all charges.
- Her Instagram account has over 65.4K followers (as of June 2023).
FAQs
Q.1 Who is Rehana Fathima?
Ans. Rehana Fathima is an Indian women’s rights activist from Kerala.
Q.2 How old is she?
Ans. Her age was 37 years old.
Q.3 What is her net worth?
Ans. Her net worth is ($2.8 Billion).
Q.4 What is her real name?
Ans. Her real name is Rehana Fathima Pyarijaan Sulaiman.
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