Kerala activist Devaki Nambeesan who fought for right to cover breasts in temple no more

Thrissur: Devaki Nambeesan, 90, a prominent activist known for her involvement in the Velur protest - that called for women’s right to cover their breasts in a temple festival -  passed away on Sundayat at her daughter’s house in Thrissur.

She was a key figure in the Velur temple protest (Maru Marakkal Samaram) held in 1965. The agitation was in protest against a custom that barred women belonging to the Nair community from covering their breasts while taking part in certain rituals during the annual temple festival. The march was led by a group of lower caste women who were not allowed to take part in the rituals. The then Communist Party supported the march.
 
Devaki acted as a catalyst for the success of the Velur protest. Though she was not able to take part in the crucial moment of the protest due to postpartum period rest, she organised women and motivated them.  She has also served jail sentence for participating in a Communist revolutionary AK Goplan-led farmers’ protest, that happened six decades ago. 

Her husband is late ASN Nambeesan, former MLA and Communist veteran. Their children are Aryadevi, Sathidevi, Somanathan and Geetha Devi. The in-laws are MD Raman, PK Harikrishnan, Ushakumari, CP Krishnan.