Woman attacked by kin for shrine visit
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kanakadurga, one of the two women who entered the Sabarimala temple on January 2, defying an age-old bar on women of reproductive age doing so, and who has been in hiding ever since, was attacked by her mother-in-law when she returned home on Tuesday, police said.
Kanakadurga suffered minor head injuries and has been admitted to a medical college hospital in Kozhikode. A government servant, she told the police she was attacked by her mother-in-law with a wooden plank. The mother-in-law has also been admitted in a hospital at Perinthalmanna in Malappuram district; she has, in turn, complained that she was manhandled by her daughter-inlaw.
The attack, whichever side it may have come from, highlights the mood in Kerala where protestors have taken to the streets to protest what they see as an injustice done to their God by the Supreme Court, which, on September 28 said that women of any age could enter the temple. The court was expected to hear 20-odd review petitions starting January 22, but this has been delayed because one of the judges on the bench will be on leave at the time.
Earlier, Kanakadurga’s husband filed a missing person report and the family disowned her following her January 2 entry into the hill shrine dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, considered to be an eternal celibate.
Her brother, Bharatbhushan alleged that the entire plot to enter Sabarimala was planned and executed by certain CPI(M) leaders belonging to Kannur (north Kerala) with the help of senior police officers including Kottayam SP S Harishankar. After the latest attack the brother said this was another conspiracy being hatched by his sister for cheap publicity.
Hailing from an orthodox Nair family Kanakadurga (42), a mother of two, has attracted the ire of her relatives, with some of them saying they won’t allow her to return home for “inviting disgrace on the family and community.”
According to them, she left home, Areekkode in Malappuram district, on December 22 saying she wanted to attend a meeting in the state capital. On December 24 she and a friend Bindu Ammini, 40, a lecturer at Kannur University, tried to enter the temple but were forced to retreat after devotees protested. After their failed attempt, both refused to return home and were under police protection. They finally made it to the temple on January 2. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan confirmed this.
Following threats by rightwing groups, both women went into hiding after entering the hill shrine.
Last Friday, the women, speaking from an undisclosed location in the outskirts of Kochi, told WHO, they were facing threats from protesters, but expressed confidence that the authorities would provide them protection. They added that they would return home soon.
On Sunday, the two appeared at a function in Kochi.
In an interview to a news channel, they said they were not tools in the hands of either the police, or the government, and they made it to the temple as devotees to prove a point.