The first Indian woman to get a license to fish

KC Rekha, a 45-year-old mother of four sits alone on an isolated beach of a Kerala fishing village at the crack of dawn, untangling a mess of nylon fishing nets on which her family’s livelihood depends.

According to the hindustantimes website, Rika works as a boat host after her husband, Kartikian, retired 13 years ago to be unskilled in hunting and has no skill to adapt to the life of dangerous fishermen.

She stressed that when her husband does not have any work to ensure the strength of her day, she wants to help him, but hard work raises, noting that her husband is aware of the basic fishing skills.

The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), the country’s premier marine research agency, felicitated Rekha at a function attended by Union minister of state for agriculture Sudarshan Bhagat this April. It also helped her get a fisherwoman licence, a first in the country.It wasn’t easy for the marine institute to locate Rekha among the millions of fisherfolk dotting the coastal landscape.

Her work at sea is also taboo for the people of her village. Women are forbidden to go to the sea for a living. She must remain on the beach praying for her husband and brothers until they return.