Student selling fish: After social media backlash, FIR filed, CM backs her

Police move Hanan away from a crowd in Kochi on Thursday. PTI

A DAY after a 21-year-old college student from Kerala was humiliated on social media for selling fish to make both ends meet, Kochi police on Friday registered a case against a person named Noorudheen Sheik under various sections of IT Act for trolling the woman — Hanan Hameed. Coming out in Hanan’s support, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said he felt proud of her, and her struggles amid adverse situations, and advised the young woman not to lose confidence amid the social media campaign against her.

Hanan, a third-year graduation student, became a social media star on Wednesday after Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi ran a news report about her struggle to run her family — comprising her divorced mother and a younger brother — and continue her studies. A resident of Madavana, near Kochi, she goes to the local fish market early morning each day to collect fish and keep them at a friend’s house. At 7.30 am, she takes a bus to her college — at Thodupuzha, 60 km from her home — and rushes to Kochi to sell the fish at a nearby market after college hours, the report stated. In her struggle, Hanan had mantled roles of junior artiste in films, it stated.

As praise poured in from all quarters, film director Arun Gopi announced a role for Hanan in his upcoming project. That announcement changed the track of opinion on social media, as many started doubting that the fish-selling “story” was part of a promotional event for the film.

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This triggered a massive online backlash against Hanan, who was forced to prove her credentials, and that the news report was not part of a publicity stunt. A section of people online even found fault with a Muslim woman selling fish without wearing a headscarf.

Maintaining that people of Kerala should support her, Chief Minister Vijayan said social media is a double-edged sword, and everyone should be cautious on how to use it.