KOCHI: The right of autonomy over one’s body is often denied to the fairer sex and they are bullied, discriminated against, isolated and persecuted for making choices about their bodies and lives, the Kerala High Court said on Monday while discharging a women’s rights activist in a Pocso case.
Rehana Fathima, a woman’s rights activist, was facing charges for circulating a video in which she was seen posing semi-nude for her minor children, allowing them to paint on her body.
Discharging her from the case, Justice Kauser Edappagath said from the allegations against the 33-year-old activist, no one could infer that her children were used for any real or simulated sexual acts and that too for sexual gratification.
The court said she only allowed her body to be used as a canvas for her children to paint on.
“The right of a woman to make autonomous decisions about her body is at the very core of her fundamental right to equality and privacy. It also falls within the realm of personal liberty guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution,” it said.
Stating that “nudity and obscenity are not always synonymous”, the court said, “It is wrong to classify nudity as essentially obscene or even indecent or immoral.”
“Every individual is entitled to the autonomy of his/her body – this is not selective on gender. But we often find this right is diluted or denied to the fairer sex,” the court said.
“The women are bullied, discriminated against, isolated, and prosecuted for making choices about their bodies and lives,” the court said.