Kerala : In what seemed a victory of sorts for gender equality in a place of worship, two young women below the age of 50 entered the famous Sabarimala temple when it opened for the Maharavilaukku pilgrimage season, on Wednesday.
Kerala : In what seemed a victory of sorts for gender equality in a place of worship, two young women below the age of 50 entered the famous Sabarimala temple when it opened for the Maharavilaukku pilgrimage season, on Wednesday.
Bindu and Kanaka Durga, both in their early forties, offered worship at the Sabarimala Aiyyappan temple, defying many odds and protests. Attired in black clothes (meant for Aiyyappa devotees), the women managed to sneak in at the odd hour of 3.45 am on Wednesday to offer their worship without interference from protesters and away from media glare. The two women who started the uphill trek from the base camp of Pamba around midnight yesterday, reached the temple at 3.45 am on Wednesday and offered worship to the deity of Aiyyappan.
While Bindu (44) is a college lecturer and CPI (ML) activist, Kanakadurga (42) is a civil supplies employee who had earlier made an unsuccessful attempt to enter Sabarimala on December 24 and was chased away along with 11 women activists from Chennai.
The Kerala Chief Minister, Pinayari Vijayan, who confirmed the visit of the younger women to the Sabarimala temple said, "It is a fact that the women entered the shrine. The police are bound to offer protection to anyone wanting to worship at the shrine." The women are being hailed for achieving what seemed impossible for women in the menstruation age group to worship at the Sabarimala shrine, despite the apex court lifting the ban on young women offering worship at the famous temple.