KOZHIKODE: In Perambra, where poll results had long followed a familiar script, a 34-year-old lawyer rewrote the narrative. Fathima Thahiliya of the IUML did not just defeat a seasoned opponent by over 5,000 votes; she unsettled decades of political certainty. Taking on LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan, she secured 81,429 votes.
IUML’s experiment with women candidates has been rare and, until now, unsuccessful. Its first woman nominee, Khamarunnisa Anwar, lost to CPM’s Elamaram Kareem in 1996. Its second woman pick, Noorbina Rasheed, lost to LDF’s Ahammad Devarkovil in 2021.
“This victory belongs to everyone who believed change was possible,” Fathima said after her win.
From student politics in the Muslim Students Federation to becoming the founding state president of Haritha, its women’s wing, Fathima built her political identity by insisting on space where little existed. Soon after her candidature was announced, she became the focus of online abuse.
“Living as a woman demands effort. Living as a hijab-wearing woman demands even more. Reaching here means those barriers can be crossed and must be crossed,” said Fathima, who has balanced her legal career at Calicut District Court with an evolving political life.