Kv Rabya, 59, a village woman who seized hundreds of illiterate men and women with education, although on Sunday (May 4, 2025) in Tirurangadi, she sat on a trolley for a lifetime. She received palliative care in Almas Hospital, Kottakkal, a month before she died in her sisters in Mambora in Tirurangadi.
Mrs. Rabiya, known as the “Ambassador of the Literacy Movement”, resisted adversity throughout her life. It illuminated countless lives with the power of knowledge.
Mrs. Rabiya was celebrated as Kerala Aksharaputri (which means “Daughter of Letters”) for her key role in the movement of the overall literacy of the state. Although she was tied to a wheelchair from the age of 14 due to polio, hundreds of people taught hundreds of people in the literacy movement.
In 1994, she founded Chalanam, an organization that managed a social transformation in her native village of Velilakkad and then. Her pioneering program for strengthening the position of women mobilized 60-life neighborhoods before initiatives, such as Kudumbashree, popular.
Mrs. Rabiya founded schools for physically attacked children and also promoted libraries and strengthening the position of women. Her efforts brought a major infrastructure to the village of Velilakkad, including roads, energy and water.
She fought against social injustice and mediated family and social disputes and earned her admiration and opponents.
The remarkable work of Mrs. Rabiy gained widespread recognition in 2022, including the prestigious Padma Shri.
Challenges and durability
Mrs. Rabiy’s life was marked by significant challenges: Polio let her walk at the age of 14, breast cancer led to mastectomy at the age of 32, and her spinal cord injured her to bed for more than 25 years. She also fought gastrointestinal and lung problems for more than ten years and survived two Covid-19 infections that left permanent effects. In the end, she succumbed to cancer and ended her remarkable but challenging life.
Her inspirational story about resistance has entered school textbooks. Although the literacy movement that led more than two decades ago has slowed down, its impact still persists.
Mrs. Rabiya wrote an autobiography called Swapnangalkku Chirakukalund, which translates into dreams that have wings in English. Some cultural leaders even drew parallels, suggesting that it would be considered holy if it were Christian.
Her body was brought to PSMO College in Tirurangadi, where people from different areas of life gave her the last respect. In the evening she was buried with the state honor in the cemetery, Juma Masjid in Tirurangadi.
Published – 4 May 2025 17:54
