BackMother booked for letting kids paint on semi-nude body gets relief, Kerala HC says...
Kerala HC cleared a mother in a criminal case, ruling that a woman's naked body shouldn't be seen as sexual or obscene by default. The 2020 case pertains to a viral video of activist Rehana Fathima's children painting on her semi-nude body.
PremiumThe Kerala High Court discharged a mother accused in a criminal case, decreeing that the depiction of a woman's naked body should not be regarded as sexual or obscene by default. The case pertains to a once viral video that had featured her children painting on her semi-nude body. The woman had contended that the clip was intended to challenge patriarchal ideas and counter the over-sexualization of the female body.
Activist Rehana Fathima had been booked in 2020 after she uploaded the video on Facebook. She had asserted at the time that women wearing a mere dress were not safe in a ‘sexually frustrated’ society. The post had gone viral at the time, being widely circulated on social media and drawing censure from several quarters.
The police had eventually registered a non-bailable case against her following a complaint by BJP leader A V Arun Prakash. Fathima was chargesheeted under sections of the POCSO act, the Information Technology Act and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.
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The court opined that there was 'nothing wrong' with the video of the circumstances. The Bench asserted that the 'art project' could not be characterised as a real or simulated sex act' and was not done for sexual gratification.
“To term this innocent artistic expression to be ‘usage of a child in real or simulated sexual act’ is harsh. There is nothing to show that the children were used for pornography. There is no hint of sexuality in the video," it added.
“The autonomy of the male body is seldom questioned, while the body agency and autonomy of women are under constant threat in a patriarchal structure. The women are bullied, discriminated against, isolated, and prosecuted for making choices about their bodies and lives," LiveLaw quoted Justice Kauser Edappagath as observing.
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