THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: “My father had a dream, and I simply lived it,” she said once. But it was not easy to live up to her father’s dream. Born in an era when patriarchy was more deep-rooted, it was not a simple task. It was sheer determination that helped Fathima fight all odds and become the first woman judge of the Supreme Court in 1989. Justice Fathima Beevi, 96, who passed away on Thursday, was the embodiment of female empowerment.
A no-nonsense woman, Fathima always wore a white saree with different coloured zari borders. She never wore a hijab, but instead drew the loose end of her saree demurely over the head. Fathima was always quizzed about remaining single throughout her life. To this, she maintained that she never felt like having a ‘better half’ and never had any regrets.
The eldest daughter of Meera Sahib and Khadeeja Beevi, Fathima was born in Pathanamthitta in 1927. She had five sisters and two brothers. Meera Sahib ensured that his children got into not just any career, but those that would give solace to people and are deeply rooted in compassion and justice.
At a time when girls, especially those belonging to the Muslim community, were not allowed to study beyond a point, Meera Sahib encouraged his daughters to break the glass ceiling.
After winning a gold medal in BSc chemistry from University College Thiruvananthapuram, Fathima was keen on pursuing her master’s. But her father was determined that she should not end up an academician. Despite staging a ‘satyagraha’, Fathima reluctantly joined Thiruvananthapuram Law College.
For Fathima, the most memorable day in her life was when she enrolled into the Bar Council, on November 14, 1950. It turned out to be much sweeter for a modest Muslim girl as she was declared topper in the Bar Council exam. She was the first female to accomplish the honour.
In 1958, Fathima Beevi joined the judiciary as a Munsif in Thrissur. Later, she served a couple of terms as Munsif, District Judge and Chief Judicial Magistrate in Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram.
It was during her tenure as District Judge in 1980 that she was appointed a judicial member of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in Ernakulam. In 1983, she became a High Court judge. In 1989, she was named the first woman judge of the Supreme Court.
Though it was a challenging stint, Fathima Beevi recalled that she never felt discriminated against. In her three-year term, she served with two CJIs — Justice E S Venkataramaiah and Justice M H Kania.
Stood up to Union govt when she was TN governor
After retirement, she was appointed as the first woman member of the National Human Rights Commission. Another notch in her long career was her appointment as the Governor of Tamil Nadu. This posting brought with it great happiness and trauma for her. It was during this tenure that she made headlines by rejecting the mercy petitions of four convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
Towards the fag end of her gubernatorial posting, she attracted the wrath of the Union government.
She had administered the oath of office to J Jayalalithaa after AIADMK secured a majority in the 2001 assembly elections, a move that stirred controversy.
She had also given a clean chit to the government over the law and order situation. This did not go down well with the then-Vajpayee government at the Centre. Caught in the eye of a storm, she stepped down. Despite breaking the glass ceiling, Justice Fathima Beevi was always a tad bit disappointed about one thing – that not many women had followed in her footsteps.