05-05-2025
KV Rabiya: Kerala's literacy champion dedicated her life beating all adversaries
KV Rabiya, a wheelchair-bound social activist who championed and expanded the boundaries of Kerala's literacy campaign among adults, died on Sunday at a relative's home in Malappuram district following a brief illness and a long battle with cancer, her family said. She was 59.
Rabiya, who was born on February 25,1966 as the second of six children of Moosakutty Haji and Beeyachutty Hajjumma in the small village of Vellilakadu in Malappuram district, was diagnosed with polio at the age of 14 and had her further studies confined to her home and bound to a wheelchair.
After completing her initial schooling at the Government high school in Tirurangadi, Rabiya enrolled for a pre-degree course at the PSMO College in Tirurangadi when her legs were crippled by polio.
After finishing the course from her home, the Vellilakadu resident in the early 90s was attracted by the ideals of the state government's literacy campaign and began teaching words to the illiterate people in her neighbourhood from the confines of her wheelchair at home.
Soon, word of her unique teaching style and her dedication to the work drew hundreds of people to her home from across the district. She worked as an instructor with the Sampoorna Saksharatha Mission of the state government.
In 1994, she started the 'Chalanam Charitable Society' which worked to address problems in the rehabilitation of differently-abled persons, promoted health awareness among rural population and stressed on the importance of formal education, especially among women.
Under 'Chalanam', there were multiple schools for differently-abled children, a small-scale manufacturing unit for women, a library exclusively for women, a youth club and various programmes aimed at tackling social evils like dowry, superstition and alcoholism.
For her efforts in advancing literacy among the adult population, Rabiya received the national youth award from then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao in 1994. In 2022, she was bestowed with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour.
Other honours included the Youth Volunteer against Poverty, instituted by the Union government and the UNDP, Nehru Yuva Kendra award, Joseph Mundassery award for social work and the Kerala state literacy samiti award.
Rabiya also played a key role in the 'Akshaya' programme of the Kerala government, aimed at bridging the digital divide and bringing government services at doorstep through digitialisation, in her native Malappuram district.
In the course of her professional achievements, however, Rabiya's personal health took a toll in the form of cancer in the year 2000. But she fought the disease with chemotherapy in Thrissur and advised other cancer patients to take the path of modern science. Two years later, she successfully completed her Hajj pilgrimage.
In 2004, Rabiya slipped on the floor of the bathroom, injuring her spine severely and limiting her movements to a great extent. But even as she lay on the bed, the social activist began scribbling her thoughts on a notepad, which came out in the public domain in the form of four books in subsequent years. One of them was an autobiography 'Swapnangalku Chirakukalundu' (Dreams have wings) in 2009, which received critical acclaim.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan consoled her demise and said Rabiya taught everyone that no limit should restrict anyone from accessing knowledge.
Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan said: 'Rabiya's life was dedicated to her fellow human beings even as she struggled with illness and the circumstances of her life. Her fortitude in leading the literacy movement despite her illness was commendable.'
