Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
5 min of reading 
4 comments 
Karthyayani Amma’s Journey Reveals Overcoming Hardships from a Working Childhood to International Recognition, Highlighting Her Late Literacy, Remarkable Achievements, and the Emotional Impact That Inspired Cultural Projects and Motivated Other Elderly Women
Karthyayani Amma was born around 1922 and lived in Cheppad, in the Haripad region of Kerala. She grew up in a simple environment and left school early because she needed to work as a child. This routine marked her journey and influenced later choices.
Throughout her adult life, she married and had six children. She supported her family by working as a street sweeper and domestic worker.
The routine was intense and began before dawn, as she woke up at 4 a.m. every day. A vegetarian, she maintained strict habits.
-
The Brazilian colonial city that stopped in time and shares territory with a rocket launch base.
-
79-year-old woman challenges limits, visits 193 countries in the world after 56 years of planning and reveals the behind-the-scenes of a global journey that few have managed to accomplish.
-
These are the drivers who may stop paying tolls on highways in a project that promises to reduce costs for those who live from transportation in Brazil.
-
(Video): Italian pilot lands plane on moving train at 120 km/h and achieves unprecedented feat in aviation, even with a narrow runway and without direct visual contact.
Pursuit of Education
In 2018, Karthyayani Amma lived in Laksham Veedu Colony, a housing complex aimed at the elderly.
Living there brought new stimuli, as her daughter had passed a literacy exam at the age of 60. This detail, simple at first glance, sparked a desire in her to study.
The inspiration turned into action. That same year, she enrolled to participate in the Aksharalaksham program, organized by the Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority.
The exam had 40,362 participants, and Karthyayani Amma was the oldest in her district.
Additionally, she learned reading and writing with the help of her great-grandchildren, who were nine and twelve years old. The home lessons helped build her confidence.
The Exam and Sudden Fame
The test assessed reading, writing, and mathematics. Karthyayani Amma scored 98 out of a total of 100, achieving the highest score.
After the results were announced, she stated that she had learned without a specific reason and found the tests simple.
The performance gained national attention. Actress Manju Warrier visited her during Diwali, while Kerala’s education minister, C. Raveendranath, gifted her a laptop.
Shortly after, Governor Pinarayi Vijayan presented her with a merit certificate. To the press, she stated that she aimed to take the next exam at the age of 100.
International Recognition
In 2019, Karthyayani Amma was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the Commonwealth of Learning. The following year, she received the Nari Shakti Puraskar 2019 from Ram Nath Kovind, then President of India.
She had never traveled by plane, so she needed to be reassured by MS Sunil, another awardee, before the flight to the Presidential Palace in Delhi.
Another honoree that year was Bhageerathi Amma, also from Kerala, who passed the same exam at the age of 105.
Karthyayani’s Legacy
Her journey inspired filmmaker Vikas Khanna, who produced the documentary Barefoot Empress, dedicated to her story and spirit.
Karthyayani Amma passed away in Alappuzha, Kerala, on October 10, 2023, at the age of 101.
With information from Wikipedia.
You May Also Like: At 89, Innocent Man Who Waited 50 Years on Death Row Receives Largest Compensation Ever Paid in Japan
A Japanese man who spent nearly 50 years on death row received a historic compensation in the country. Iwao Hakamata, now 89 years old, spent decades serving a sentence that was eventually overturned due to a new trial conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to support it.
He will now be compensated 217 million yen (approximately R$ 8.25 million), an amount that represents the largest payment ever recorded in a criminal case in Japan.
Lawyers argued that the long detention caused deep harm. Therefore, they insisted on the maximum allowed ceiling.
They stated that no other death row inmate had waited so long for execution, which worsened his mental condition.
Judicial Decision and Recognition of Damages
Judge Kunii Koshi accepted the arguments and recognized extremely serious physical and psychological damages.
Additionally, he determined that the government should bear the compensation in full. The decision ended one of the most well-known legal trajectories in the country.
Hakamata had been sentenced in 1968. He was accused of killing the head of the household, his wife, and their two children.
The case garnered significant attention because the accusation involved multiple deaths and a fire that destroyed the family’s home.
Suspicions That Changed Iwao Hakamata’s Fate
Years later, doubts emerged about how the investigation was conducted. Lawyers and supporters claimed that evidence may have been planted.
Furthermore, they pointed out that the DNA found on the victims’ clothing did not match Hakamata’s.
These inconsistencies paved the way for a rare new trial.
In 2014, he left prison after nearly half a century of detention. Since then, he lived under the care of his older sister, Hideko, who spent decades advocating for his innocence.
The Acquittal and Public Impact
In September of last year, hundreds of people gathered outside the Shizuoka court. The judge announced the acquittal amidst applause and shouts of “banzai.” The scene symbolized the end of a wait that had been too long.
Hakamata did not attend due to his fragile mental state. He had also been excused from all previous sessions for the same reason.
Even in his absence, his acquittal was celebrated as a milestone that exposed failures in the Japanese justice system.
Origin of the Accusations and the Contested Confession
The crime for which he was charged occurred in 1966. At the time, he worked in a miso processing factory.
The bodies of the head of the household, his wife, and their children were found after a fire at the family residence in Shizuoka, west of Tokyo. All had stab wounds.
Authorities claimed that Hakamata killed the family, set fire to the house, and stole 200,000 yen. He initially denied it.
Later, he admitted to the crime but claimed that the confession had been coerced. He reported beatings and interrogations that lasted up to 12 hours a day.
Consequences for the Justice System
For years, lawyers insisted that the investigation was flawed. Therefore, they repeatedly requested a new trial. The process only restarted last October, after a long wait.
The case sparked debates about coerced confessions and the slow pace of judicial reviews in Japan.
It also reignited discussions about the death penalty and detention conditions in the country.
The information is from the BBC.
O ser humano não é perfeito. Mesmo que tenha as mais altas patentes, diplomas universitários.
Achei pouco o valor da indenização. 50 anos preso é mto tempo. O q ele perdeu durante esse tempo é irrecuperável.
De que adianta dinheiro agora ?
Gente brasileira, não é so aqui que acontece coisas deste tipo. É no mundo!