Padma Shri Recipient K.V. Rabiya Passes Away.

Obituary

In May 2025, Kariveppil Rabiya, a pioneering literacy advocate from Kerala and Padma Shri Awardee, passed away at Tirurangadi, Kerala. She was widely admired for her lifelong commitment to adult literacy and women's empowerment, despite battling significant health challenges.


      - Born on 25 February 1966, Rabiya was a differently-abled social worker from Malappuram, Kerala.

      - At the age of 17, while in her first year of college, she was crippled by polio, which affected her legs.

      - In June 1990, Rabiya launched an adult literacy campaign in Tirurangadi, Malappuram, becoming a prominent figure in Kerala’s literacy movement.

Main Point :-   (i) In 1994, she founded Chalanam, an organization that facilitated social transformation for thousands in her native Vellilakad village and surrounding areas.

      (ii) Rabiya was revered as Kerala's Aksharaputri (daughter of letters) for her critical role in the State’s total literacy movement and She played a pivotal role in making Malappuram the first e-literate district in India through the Akshaya project.

(iii) Rabiya received several prestigious awards, including the National Youth Award (1993), Kannagi Sthree Shakti Award (1999), UNDP Award (2000), Joseph Mundaserry Award (2010), and the Padma Shri (2022) for her exceptional contributions to social work and education.

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