Women Barred Into Sabarimala

Another woman in the "barred" age group made a futile attempt to reach Sabarimala today, but was forced to retreat by agitated protesters, while security was tightened at the shrine amid reports that more women of menstruating age could try to visit the temple before its doors close tonight. Bindu, a Dalit activist, who was proceeding to Pamba at t...

There is, especially to those who care about individual rights, something disturbing about this entire process. The "tradition" that bars many women from entering the temple is not of any great age, but even so, it has settled into the complex of beliefs held by worshippers of the temple's deity, Ayyappa.

After the Supreme Court allowed the entry of women of all ages into Kerala's renowned Sabarimala Temple, some devotees welcomed the verdict, while others were disappointed. The Travancore Devaswom Board, which runs the shrine, has accepted the verdict and won't be filing for its review, it said today.

Another woman in the "barred" age group made a futile attempt to reach Sabarimala today, but was forced to retreat by agitated protesters, while security was tightened at the shrine amid reports that more women of menstruating age could try to visit the temple before its doors close tonight. Bindu, a Dalit activist, who was proceeding to Pamba at t...

There is, especially to those who care about individual rights, something disturbing about this entire process. The "tradition" that bars many women from entering the temple is not of any great age, but even so, it has settled into the complex of beliefs held by worshippers of the temple's deity, Ayyappa.

After the Supreme Court allowed the entry of women of all ages into Kerala's renowned Sabarimala Temple, some devotees welcomed the verdict, while others were disappointed. The Travancore Devaswom Board, which runs the shrine, has accepted the verdict and won't be filing for its review, it said today.