KOCHI: Hasna Shahitha, a third year LLB student of the Government Law College in Ernakulam, has denied charges that she is one of the organisers of the Kiss of Love campaign planned by a group of activists on November 2 in Kochi.
“I have made it very clear that I am not an organiser of the event, but, I am against all kinds of moral policing”, she said. The Kerala Students Union, the student wing of the Congress, which has said that it would prevent the Kiss of Love programme in Kochi had named her as one of the organisers of the event.
Ms Hasna, area president of the pro-CPM SFI in the Law College, said that KSU had resorted to such charges due to political bankruptcy and their sexist attitudes. The statement of the KSU is a reflection of the stereotyped image nurtured by the organisation about women and girls. “My identity as a person bearing a Muslim name is also being used in a subtle manner by political opponents”, she said. By projecting her as the champion of the Kiss of Love campaign despite her denial meant that her political opponents were giving out the message that "a good Muslim girl should move around with the ubiquitous veil and headscarf", she added.
Meanwhile, the KSU will organise a women’s convention in Kochi on Friday to counter the Kiss of Love event at Marine Drive on November 2 and to counter increasing attacks on women. A total of 50 girl students will assemble in Kerala attire at the Gandhi statute near Rajendra Maidan at 3 pm.
