Women priests defy stereotypes at Mangalore temple

Mangalore: At Sri Gokarnatha temple in Mangalore, tradition is being updated in a welcome way.

Usually, priests you see at a Hindu temple are all men. And widows are unable to take part in many ceremonies. But turning all that on its head, this temple has taken the step towards equality by training two women, whose husbands have died, to become priests.

Lakshmi and Indira have been trained for four months. Sharing her experience, Indira told NDTV, "I am very happy. This is work that is respected in India. We are serving god and are happy that we can do this. We don't have experience but we are confident because we have studied this now."

The plan had the strong support of veteran politician Janardhan Poojary, a firm believer of gender equality. "We have implemented the philosophy of Brahmashree Narayana Guruswamy, namely one caste, one religion, one god. All are equal before god. As per the constitution also, we are all equal before the law. Whether you are a woman or whether you are a man, all are equal. Whether you are married or whether you lost your husband, you are not going to lose your matrodevabhava," he said.

The temple has been a tradition breaker, as Poojary points out, with women whose husbands have died (he does not like the term 'widow') participating in earlier functions. This was something that was traditionally frowned upon.

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"We have been implementing this in this very temple. 5000 women who had lost their husband performed homa. It is not a new thing," he said.

This break with tradition, in a country where women are often not accorded the respect that they are due, is just a beginning, just one step forward, but a step that could have a real impact in changing traditional mindsets on gender roles.

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