31-year-old BSNL engineer Rehana Fathima, who attempted to climb up Sabarimala hill, has been transferred from her BSNL post in Cochin to Ravipuram. It is also being reported that the company has begun an internal investigation against her.
Model and activist Rehana Fathima was employed at the Kochi boat jetty branch as a phone mechanic, and has now been transferred to Ravipuram to a role that will reportedly not require any direct contact or communication with customers.
While some media outlets including The New Indian Express have reported that her transfer is a punitive measure, Rehana Fathima claimed that she had in fact requested the transfer herself.
“Five years ago, I myself had requested a transfer from Kochi to Ravipuram. Now, as a blessing from god, that request has become successful. I do not consider it a punishment.” However, she has no comments on whether the timing of the transfer is due to her controversial decision to climb Sabarimala hill on Friday morning.
Rehena Fathima, who had been in controversies earlier, was finally not allowed entry into the shrine after the government spoke against using the temple for activism. Her Facebook post on Sabarimala soon after the judgment had angered many devotees. Before Rehana Fathima had even begun her descent down the hill, it was reported that her house in Kochi had been broken into and had one of its glass windows broken. She was accompanied by policemen from Sabarimala to her residence on Friday, and has had a police detail of between 10 and 15 policemen posted at her house in the days following due to the protests and attempted attacks on her house. The controversial activist told TNM that both she and her daughter have received threats to their lives and bodily safety.
On Saturday, Pathanamthitta police registered a complaint against her for putting up social media posts that are “communally divisive”. The complaint was filed by Sabarimala Achara Samrakshana Samithi secretary Padmakumar P.
Rehana Fathima participated in the Kiss of Love protests in Kochi back in 2014, and was also one of the first women to participate in the Thrissur ‘Pullikalli” in 2016, where men paint and dress themselves as tigers during Onam celebrations.