Kerala activist booked for posting video of kids painting on her body
Police said they will also examine whether provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act can be applied in the case.
The Kerala police on Wednesday booked the controversial activist Rehana Fathima for posting a video on social media in which two minor children were seen painting on her semi-naked body.
After the post triggered outrage the activist said both were her children and it was a work of art.
The case was filed after a woman BJP leader in Kottayam filed a complaint saying these posts come under child pornography and provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). Police in Pathanamthitta booked her under Section 67 of the IT Act (electronically transmitting sexually explicit material) and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act. They said they will also examine whether provisions of POCSO can be applied in the case.
Initially Fathima had posted the video clip on Facebook and later she uploaded it on YouTube. She justified her act saying her kids did the painting while she was resting and it was a beautiful art work. “Just as beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, so is porn in the eyes of the beholder,” she wrote in the post.
Fathima, who was working as a junior technician with BSNL in Ernakulam, was dismissed from the service two months ago after a string of complaints. Last year she was arrested on a complaint filed by a rightwing activist claiming she hurt religious feelings of the Hindu community by posting an objectionable picture on social media. She was in jail for two months.
In October 2018, she sparked outrage by attempting to trek to Sabarimala temple along with a Hyderabad-based woman digital journalist. She was excommunicated by the Muslim Jamaath Council and her house was later vandalised by protestors as the news spread.
