Atria-Content-Media
 

Sabarimala: Indian women make history by
entering temple 

105028941c6206479-1b94-4ae7-bd
BBC News - Photo by KAVIYOOR SANTOSH

Two Indian women have made history by entering a prominent Hindu shrine in the southern state of Kerala, following months of protests against their entry.


The Sabarimala temple was historically closed to women of "menstruating age" - defined as between 10 and 50. The Supreme Court overturned that ban but protesters then attacked women and stopped them from going in.  Bindu Ammini, 40, and Kanaka Durga, 39, devotees of the temple deity, Lord Ayyappa, entered around dawn.

"We arrived early in the morning and we had a darshan [saw the idol] for a few minutes," Ms Ammini told the BBC.

Kerala's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, whose government supports the Supreme Court ruling, told reporters that the women's entry into the temple was a historic moment.  On 1 January, his left-wing coalition government organised a "women's wall" - in which women from across Kerala formed a 620km (385-mile) human chain to protest against the ban.

Temple officials say the women have "defiled" the temple. It was closed for an hour in order to perform "purification rituals" but has now re-opened.

Sabarimala: Why has a Hindu temple divided India's women?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-46232087


BBC News, 02/01/2019


Atria-Content-Events