Thathri Kutty, The Woman Behind Women Liberation in Malayalam History

Over a hundred years ago, the state of Kerala was woken up from its slumber of misogyny and patriarchy by a young woman called Thathri Kutty. She was the first woman to raise her voice against the patriarchy that dominated the state. Her act of calling out the injustice led to drastic reforms and changes within her caste.

Here are 10 things you need to know about the intelligent and brave Thathri Kutty.

• Thathri Kutty was a young Namboothiri Brahmin woman who was the first one to rebel against the misogynistic practices that were going on in Kerala during her time. Her act was a turning point in Malayalam history for women and their liberation.
• The Namboothiri Brahmins that Thathri Kutty belonged to are native to Kerala and were highly dominating due to their wealth and status. There was a lot of gender gap in the community. The women of the community were trained from their childhood to be solely obedient, loyal, and serve their husband while the men could have as many wives as they wanted.
• Thathri was an Antherjanam in the Namboothiri community. Antherjanams were expected to be “pure and tamed” and they were not even allowed to show their faces directly to the public. If an Antherjanam was found to be unchaste, the punishment was severe. The whole point was to maintain the virginity of these women as their honour was attached to it.
• In light of the elevated status of men in their community, the Namboothiris would also often conduct a Vedic-style Smarthavicharam which is a trial conducted for Brahmin women who are accused of adultery. The women found guilty in the trial would then be abandoned, thrown out into the streets, and ex-communicated. It is also important to understand that the woman accused in this trial has a very thin chase of winning the case made against her.
• Thathri Kutty during this period was married off to a man in his sixties when she was only eighteen herself. But she separated from her husband after a while. After the separation, she was famous for her charm, her beauty, and her intelligence. At the age of 23, she already had the attention of many men and was a well-known and desired sex worker.
• Nobody recognised Thathri as an Antherjanam woman in society until one day her ex-husband came to get her services. He then lashed out of the place and spread the news of the Antherjanam woman who was a prostitute.
• After this incident, Thathri Kutty was secluded from the community and a trial was set up for her according to the norms. She was imprisoned in an outhouse before the trial.
• Thathri was then brought before the Smarthavicharam trial. Unlike many other women who were scared for their future, Thathri Kutty was confident and was not intimidated by the prosecutors and the accusers.
• When three Namboothiri scholars and a prosecutor questioned her, Thathri admitted to all accusations. In return, she said that the law should be administered equally to everyone. She went on to further name and identify 65 elite men with whom she had slept by producing various visual and written evidence like letters that were written to her. These men were well-known scholars of the time, musicians, artists, and others belonging to different backgrounds.
• This shocked the core of the patriarchal and misogynistic society and culture in Kerala. The King also agreed to administer equal justice for both Thathri and the men in this case. Thathri was sent to Chalakudy where she lived under tight security after the verdict. The men from the case were also made to leave their homes like the women were forced to. This act of Thathri Kutty triggered drastic reforms within the Namboodiri caste.