Salma (writer)

Salma
Chairperson of Tamil Nadu Social Welfare Board
In office 2006–2011
Sarpanch of Ponnampatti Panchayat
In office 2001–2006
Personal details
Born	Rajathi Samsudeen 1968 (age 55–56) Thuvarankurichi, Tamil Nadu
Citizenship	India
Political party	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Spouse	Malik ​ (before 1988)​
Children	2
Occupation	Writer and Political activist
Awards	Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia Award (2019)

Rakkiaiah (alternatively Rokkiah, born Rajathi Samsudeen in 1968^[1][2]) is an Indian Tamil writer, activist, and politician known by the pen name Salma and the nickname Rajathi,^[3] and often referred to as Rajathi Salma.^[4] Her works have received international acclaim and she is renowned as a sensation in contemporary Tamil literature.^[1][4]

She is a member of the

At the age of 13, Salma was betrothed to a cousin named Malik but was able to postpone the marriage until she was 19,[2]^[4] when her mother persuaded her to marry by feigning a heart attack.^[4] Following marriage, Salma was granted the name of Rokkiah Begum and had two children.^[3] Her interest in literature continued in her married life and was seen as akin to insanity by her family.^[4][7] At the age of 22, Salma wrote her first poem, Oppandham, as an outlet for her frustration and anger with her situation.^[4] Forced to hide her passion from her family, she would write while sitting on the toilet, on pieces of paper ripped from calendars and notebooks.^[4][7][8] She was subjected to abuse by her husband because of her desire to write and he would often destroy her work if he found it. Her mother eventually helped her by smuggling out poems from her home and getting them published in a Tamil weekly.^[4]

1994–2006: Literary career and political debut

Around 1994–98, Salma had become a well-known figure in Tamil literary circles. She was signed with the Kalachuvadu publishing house and was invited to a number of literary conventions around Tamil Nadu which she visited under the guise of medical visits. Since a woman travelling alone was frowned upon in her social setting, her mother accompanied her on her first event in the city of Chennai.^[5]

Her family, however, continued to be apprehensive of her activities and regarded them as subversive.^[5] Her poems were described as unconventional as they covered social issues and did not refrain from mentioning women's sexuality, which eventually invoked the wrath of the social orthodoxy in her conservative neighbourhood as well as of her family, especially as she wrote poetry under her birth name and nickname of Rajathi.^[3] Their reaction caused her to adopt the pen name of Salma,^[7] appropriated from a character in a Kahlil Gibran novel.^[2] She published her first anthology of poems,^[3] Oru Malaiyum, Innoru Malaiyum under this name in 2000.^[2] In the same year, she was invited to a major three-day literary event called the World Tamil Conference set in Chennai. She attended, but refused to go on stage fearing that if a picture were to be published in the press it would raise controversy in her village and family. She also began writing a novel, which she completed by 2001 but was hesitant about publishing.^[5]

In 2001, Salma contested the panchayat (local body) elections in Ponnampatti and was subsequently elected as the panchayat leader.^[2] In her testimony she states that her family was not opposed to her contesting as it was a constituency reserved for women and they intended to control it through her; but instead she carved out an opportunity for herself.^[9] She was able to eventually leverage her position and become independent as she began serving as an elected official, chairing meetings and educating women in her community. In 2002, she was invited to an international women's rights conference held in Sri Lanka.^[4] She published her second anthology of poems, Devathai, in 2003,^[2] and acceded to publishing her novel,^[5] Irandaam Jaamangalin Kadhai in 2004.^[6] The novel was described as a semi-autobiographical work,^[10] and depicted the life and hardships faced by a young girl called Rabia born in an orthodox Muslim minority community who staunchly clung to their traditions and ritual observance.^[11]

Salma states that she was impressed by the chief minister

In the meantime, her anthology of short stories Saabam was published in 2009,[15] which was translated by N Kalyan Raman into English as The Curse: Stories.^[16] In 2016, she published her second novel Manaamiyangal,^[15] which narrated the parallel lives of two women named Mehar and Parveen.^[17][18] In a review by the Hindustan Times, the novel was described as having captured Hélène Cixous's "feminine practice of writing".^[17] It was translated from Tamil to English by Meena Kandasamy under the title of Women, Dreaming.^[18]

Social and political beliefs

On women's issues and feminism

Salma holds the position that writing itself is a political act as one draws from society which in turn becomes a means of conveying political thought.^[2] Her writings themselves have been described on multiple occasions as one capturing a feminine perspective in them.^[16][17] According to her, the popular notion of a "well-defined morality" for a woman leads to the suppression of her body and mind, and that from her perspective, morality is about love, about whether one prioritises making people happy and not hurting them.^[19] She states that women are expected to get married and become homemakers, whereas looking after the family should be the joint responsibility of both partners,^[2] and adds that women need the freedom to choose and act without fear, and that they do not need a man's permission to do so.^[19] Regarding face covering for women, she has taken the position that dressing is a personal choice of women and that no one has the right to dictate what one can or can not wear.^[20]

On asked whether she considers herself a feminist, Salma states that she does not identify herself as a feminist but is not opposed to being called one.^[19] According to her, while women have many more opportunities compared to the past, they still are not seen at equals of men by society at large. She has also come out in support of the MeToo movement in India, stating that it was long overdue and has given women the courage to speak up against workplace harassment.^[2] Since 2015, Salma has come out in explicit support for the LGBT movement in India as well.^[3]

On religious conservatism

Salma has been severely critical of Muslim religious orthodoxy in both her writing and advocacy.