KV Rabiya, Padma Shri awardee and literacy champion, passes away
04 May 2025

KV Rabiya, one of the prominent faces of Kerala's literacy movement and women's empowerment, died at 59.

She breathed her last at her Vellilakkad home on Sunday morning (May 4).

Though wheelchair-bound from age 14 due to polio and other health issues, Rabiya worked tirelessly to educate illiterate men and women.

She played a key role in transforming her village's living conditions with basic facilities like roads, electricity, and water supply.

A life dedicated to literacy and women's empowerment
Advocacy

Her dedication to education made her the "ambassador of literacy movement."

Rabiya spent her last years bedridden and was given palliative care at Almas Hospital in Kottakkal.

Her organization, Chalanam, is still active in the region: it mobilized 60 neighborhoods for a women's empowerment program, much before Kudumbashree and similar initiatives became popular.

Despite fighting many health concerns all her life, Rabiya stayed dedicated to her cause.

Recognition and accolades for Rabiya's work
Honors

Rabiya's phenomenal contributions to society have been recognized with several prestigious awards.

She was the recipient of the National Youth Award (1993), Kannagi Sthree Shakti Award (1999), UNDP Award (2000), and Joseph Mundassery Award (2010).

In recognition of her exceptional service to society, she was conferred with the Padma Shri award (2022).

Her inspiring story has been featured in school textbooks across Kerala.