For months, women activists, in particular Trupti Desai, have tried unsuccessfully to enter a famous temple to Saturn or Lord Shani in Maharashtra. Today, temple officials said that women will "neither be encouraged nor stopped" from entering, effectively lifting a centuries-old ban.
Trustee Shalini Lande informed the mediapersons about the decision on behalf of the temple trust.
The step was immediately welcomed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and women's group Bhumata Ranragini Brigade that was agitating for it for four months.
It was only over the weekend that the temple reversed its rule and said neither men nor women would be allowed into the area that has an idol placed on an outdoor platform. The new restrictions were introduced to circumvent a court ruling that women and men must have equal access to Hindu places of worship. To keep women out, the temple barred entry for male devotees as well, and said only male priests would be allowed into the inner sanctum.
Temple officials - and thousands of locals who live near the Shani Shingnapur temple in the Ahmednagar district - have fought hard to maintain the tradition that discriminates against women.
The government has pledged to the Bombay High Court that it will enforce a law that comes with six months in jail for preventing someone from offering prayers at a temple. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, over the weekend, reiterated his support for the court order.
Last year, after a woman devotee managed to offer prayers to the Shani idol, a priest conducted an emergency cleansing ceremony.
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