The Kerala High Court on Monday acquitted a women’s rights activist in a case related to the POCSO Act. The court said that half of the population often does not get the right to autonomy over their body and they have to face trouble, discrimination and punishment and are isolated because of taking decisions regarding their body and life. Let us tell you that the case against women rights activist Rehana Fatima was going on under the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation (POCSO) Act, Juvenile Justice and Information and Technology Act. A video of Fatima had surfaced in which she was standing half-naked in front of her minor children and had allowed “painting” on her body.

While acquitting Fathima, Justice Kausar Edappagath observed that 33 It is not possible for anyone to decide on the basis of the allegations leveled against the 18-year-old activist that her children were in any way used for sexual gratification in ‘sensual activity’ Are. The High Court said that she had simply allowed her body to be used as a ‘canvas’ by her children for ‘painting’. The court said, the right of women to take autonomous decisions about their bodies is at the core of their fundamental right to equality and privacy. It also comes under the personal liberty provided under Article of the Constitution. to dismiss the petition in the High Court CHALLENGE The dismissal of the petition was challenged in the High Court. In her appeal to the court, Fatima had said that the ‘body painting’ was a political move against the society’s view that the naked upper body of women is somehow associated with sexual gratification or sexual activity while men The naked upper part of the body is not seen in this form. Agreeing with Fathima’s submissions, Justice Edappagath said that drawing of the upper body of the mother by the children as an art project “cannot be seen as a real or any kind of sexual act, Nor can it be said that the work (body painting) is done for sexual gratification or with the intention of sexual gratification.

no sign of sexual gratification in the videoThe justice said it was “cruel” to link such “innocent artistic expression” with sexual activity in any form. The High Court said that there is no basis to prove that children have been used for pornography. There is no indication of sexual gratification in the video. Male or female, drawing the upper part of one’s naked body can not be seen to be associated with sexual gratification. The prosecution had claimed that Fathima showed her upper body naked in the video, hence it was obscene and indecent. However, rejecting this argument, the High Court observed that “nudity and obscenity are not always synonymous”.

)2023A woman’s body is not treated the same The court said that it is wrong to declare nudity essentially obscene or uncivilized or immoral. The Court also pointed out that at one point of time, lower caste women in Kerala fought for the right to cover their breasts and there are pictures, artefacts and idols of gods and goddesses in various ancient temples and public places across the country which are half-naked. state and all of them are considered ‘sacred’. The court said that the nudity of the upper body of men is never considered obscene or indecent nor is it linked to sexual gratification but “a woman’s body is not treated in the same way”.

Every person in his body But the right to autonomy the High Court Every person has the right to autonomy over his (male and female) body and it is not gender based. But women often do not get this right or get very little. The court observed that women are harassed, discriminated against, isolated and punished for taking decisions regarding their bodies and lives. The court further said that there are some people who consider female nudity as a ‘stigma’ and associate it only with sexual gratification, and the video released by Fathima was aimed at “exposing the double standards that exist in the society”. Justice said that nudity should not be mixed with sex. Mere viewing of a woman’s upper naked body should not be linked to sexual satisfaction. Therefore, the display of the naked body of women cannot be associated with obscene, lewd or sexual gratification.