Shani Temple Ban

Rights activist Trupti Desai's efforts to enter Mumbai's Haji Ali dargah were foiled by policemen and locals this evening. The activist -- who had successfully campaigned against the ban on women entering the Maharashtra's Shani Shingnapur temple -- had planned to enter the dargah, one of the foremost Muslim shrines, which does not allow women in i...

The Supreme Court today observed that "in the Hindu religion there is no denomination of a Hindu male or female. A Hindu is a Hindu". The remarks were made as the top court decides whether the famous Sabarimala temple in Kerala must end a centuries-old ban on women of reproductive age.

Religious leader Swaroopanand Saraswati said on Monday that the "Kerala temple tragedy may have occurred due to women forcibly entering the Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra," which had been banned for over four centuries.

Amid the huge controversy over woman demanding their right to enter temples where they have been traditionally banned, the Supreme court today said restricting their entry to the sanctum sanctorum of Sabarimala temple, one of the holiest shrines of India, puts "gender justice in danger."

Men and women lined up to the sanctum sanctorum of Maharashtra's famous Shani Shingnapur temple since on Saturday to offer prayers on the first Saturday after a 400-year -old ban on entry of women into the shrine's core area was lifted.

Maharashtra's Shani Shingnapur temple today threw open its doors to women, ending a centuries-old ban that had been challenged in courts by various activists and inspired a high-voltage campaign.

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 the temple, effectively lifting the ban on entry of women.

Temples in Maharashtra can no longer cite centuries-old traditions to ban the entry of women. The Bombay High Court ruled today that offering prayers at a temple "is the fundamental right of a woman and the government's fundamental duty to protect their (women) right."

No law prevents women from entering a place of worship; if men are allowed, then women too should be permitted access, the Bombay High Court said today.

In what could be seen an attempt at an image makeover, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh or RSS, the ideological mentor of the BJP, has advocated for women entry into temples, calling the practice of banning them from the sanctum sanctorum of some temples as 'unfair'.

It's a cause-and-effect routine that has become standard for activist Trupti Desai. This time the Nashik police have detained her along with over 100 women.

Keeping up the campaign against gender bias at places of worship, around 150 women under the banner of Bhumata Brigade today left for the famous Trimbakeshwar temple in Nashik district in Maharashtra seeking to break the bar on female devotees at the inner sanctum of the Lord Shiva shrine.

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court challenging the century-old tradition of prohibiting entry of women inside the core shrine area of Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.

Bhoomata Brigade leader Trupti Desai was today detained in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district while heading to the Shani Shingnapur temple where she had spearheaded a campaign last month against ban on female devotees entering the sacred platform.

Leader of a women's organisation that led a high-voltage stir against gender bias at Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar, and the shrine authorities have been called tomorrow by the district authorities to discuss the centuries-old ban on female devotees entering the sacred platform.

Rights activist Trupti Desai's efforts to enter Mumbai's Haji Ali dargah were foiled by policemen and locals this evening. The activist -- who had successfully campaigned against the ban on women entering the Maharashtra's Shani Shingnapur temple -- had planned to enter the dargah, one of the foremost Muslim shrines, which does not allow women in i...

The Supreme Court today observed that "in the Hindu religion there is no denomination of a Hindu male or female. A Hindu is a Hindu". The remarks were made as the top court decides whether the famous Sabarimala temple in Kerala must end a centuries-old ban on women of reproductive age.

Religious leader Swaroopanand Saraswati said on Monday that the "Kerala temple tragedy may have occurred due to women forcibly entering the Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra," which had been banned for over four centuries.

Amid the huge controversy over woman demanding their right to enter temples where they have been traditionally banned, the Supreme court today said restricting their entry to the sanctum sanctorum of Sabarimala temple, one of the holiest shrines of India, puts "gender justice in danger."

Men and women lined up to the sanctum sanctorum of Maharashtra's famous Shani Shingnapur temple since on Saturday to offer prayers on the first Saturday after a 400-year -old ban on entry of women into the shrine's core area was lifted.

Maharashtra's Shani Shingnapur temple today threw open its doors to women, ending a centuries-old ban that had been challenged in courts by various activists and inspired a high-voltage campaign.

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 the temple, effectively lifting the ban on entry of women.

Temples in Maharashtra can no longer cite centuries-old traditions to ban the entry of women. The Bombay High Court ruled today that offering prayers at a temple "is the fundamental right of a woman and the government's fundamental duty to protect their (women) right."

No law prevents women from entering a place of worship; if men are allowed, then women too should be permitted access, the Bombay High Court said today.

In what could be seen an attempt at an image makeover, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh or RSS, the ideological mentor of the BJP, has advocated for women entry into temples, calling the practice of banning them from the sanctum sanctorum of some temples as 'unfair'.

It's a cause-and-effect routine that has become standard for activist Trupti Desai. This time the Nashik police have detained her along with over 100 women.

Keeping up the campaign against gender bias at places of worship, around 150 women under the banner of Bhumata Brigade today left for the famous Trimbakeshwar temple in Nashik district in Maharashtra seeking to break the bar on female devotees at the inner sanctum of the Lord Shiva shrine.

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court challenging the century-old tradition of prohibiting entry of women inside the core shrine area of Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.

Bhoomata Brigade leader Trupti Desai was today detained in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district while heading to the Shani Shingnapur temple where she had spearheaded a campaign last month against ban on female devotees entering the sacred platform.

Leader of a women's organisation that led a high-voltage stir against gender bias at Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar, and the shrine authorities have been called tomorrow by the district authorities to discuss the centuries-old ban on female devotees entering the sacred platform.