Nari Shakti award winner Karthyayani Amma passes away

Karthyayani Amma, a Nari Shakti Puraskar recipient, passed away at 101. She achieved fame in 2018 by becoming the oldest learner to clear the Aksharalaksham literacy exam with 98 marks. She received Nari Shakti Puraskar from President Kovind. Kerala presented her in Republic Day parade. CM Vijayan condoled her death, calling her "the pride of Kerala".

Karthyayani Amma, a recipient of the Union government’s Nari Shakti Puraskar, died on Wednesday, October 11, 2023. She was 101.

A native of Muttom near Cheppad in Alappuzha, Karthyayani shot to fame in 2018 when she became the oldest learner at the age of 96 to clear the Aksharalaksham literacy examination of the Kerala State Literacy Mission. She scored 98 marks out of 100, bagging the first rank in the exam attended by 40,363 candidates.

The examinees were tested on reading, writing, and Mathematics. She scored 38 out of 40 in writing, and full marks in reading and mathematics. Karthyayani had never gone to school and used to work as a domestic help and cleaning staff. The nonagenarian had got inspiration from her daughter Amminiamma. A school dropout, Amminiamma, had cleared the tenth standard equivalent examination after attending continuing education classes.

Karthyayani was later selected as the Commonwealth of Learning Goodwill Ambassador. In March 2020, she received Nari Shakti Puraskar from President Ram Nath Kovind on International Women’s Day. Kerala presented a tableau of “Nari Shakti and Folk Traditions of Women Empowerment” featuring Karthyayani at the Republic Day parade earlier this year.

She suffered a stroke last year and had been bedridden since then.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled her death. Calling her “the pride of Kerala”, Mr. Vijayan said that she had inspired several women.