Salma

Rakkiaiah (alternatively Rokkiah, born Rajathi Samsudeen in 1968) is an Indian Tamil writer, activist, and politician known by the pen name Salma and the nickname Rajathi, and often referred to as Rajathi Salma. Her works have received international acclaim and she is renowned as a sensation in contemporary Tamil literature. She is a member of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and involved in women's and transgender rights activism. Between 2007 and 2011, she served as the chairperson of the State Social Welfare Board of Tamil Nadu. Salma is also the founder of a non-government women's rights organisation named "Your Hope is Remaining". Biography 1968–1994: Early life Salma was born in the village of Thuvarankurichi near Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu to a conservative Muslim family. At a very early age, she became interested in reading. She was unable to pursue her interest in literature due to oppressive rules in her house which restricted her movement. On one occasion she was able to sneak out with a cousin and a male friend to watch a Malayalam language film, Avalude Ravukal, in the theater; the film depicted the life of a teenage prostitute although Salma was oblivious of the topic at the time. Upon finding out about the adventure, her parents were infuriated. They pulled her out of school before she turned 15 and secluded her at home. Her cousin and her friend did not face heavy consequences and eventually her friend began sneaking books to her from the village library. As a result, during her teen years Salma became an avid reader and writer. She was enamored with Russian literature, having read the translated works of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy, and her icons became figures like Nelson Mandela and Che Guevara instead of film stars.