The pictures, posted under the hashtag 'Maaruthurakkal samaram' (stir to bare the breasts) took social media by storm, yielding hundreds of reactions, shares and comments.Debates over sartorial freedom and public awakening have never been a new thing in Kerala. The latest pitch for freedom of choice was triggered by a college teacher's reported abuse of a female student, comparing her unveiled bosom to watermelon. As the recorded voice clip of the professor showering abuses on allegedly 'inappropriately dressed' girls went viral, a group of activists started sharing their pictures pressing hemispherically cut watermelons against their breasts, on Facebook.
It is in response to this campaign that Thiruvananthapuram-based social activist Diya Sana posted on Facebook two pictures of a bare-breasted woman holding watermelons, one covering her face and the other, her breasts. The pictures, posted under the hashtag 'Maaruthurakkal samaram' (stir to bare the breasts) took social media by storm, yielding hundreds of reactions, shares and comments. Within some time, not only did Facebook remove her post following nudity reports but also restricted her access to her own account.
Sana, 27, says that the photo belongs to her friend Rehana Fathima who is also a social activist and model. Sana told Onmanorama that she doesn't intend to urge women to expose bare-breasts in public. “It's all your choice. Women should have the liberty to wear what they like. This is in response to the Farook college teacher's abusive remark on female students, comparing their body part to a fruit. I wonder when would our society stop objectifying women?” Sana asks.
Diya Sana (left) and Rehana Fathima (right)Rehana Fathima is of the opinion that sexual atrocities and body shaming would cease once the curiosity over human body ends. “What is wrong in uncovering your physique before people? The same social spaces which celebrate male bodies frown at female bodies and shame it. 'Nudity' becomes a taboo when a woman reveals her body. I have slammed this patriarchal attitude many a times," Rehana says.
Rehana, 31, hails from Ernakulam district. The two friends have taken up several contemporary issues and have a proclaimed stance on issues of gender equality, women's rights and transgenders. Rehana is also the very first woman to play Pulikkali in Thrissur, a rustic art form associated with Onam where hundreds of men dress up in tiger costumes.
