Understanding the Sabarimala protests
The Sabarimala temple in southern India — one of the world’s largest Hindu pilgrimage centres — officially opened its doors to women of menstruating age yesterday following a ruling by India’s Supreme Court. But protesters bullied and attacked some devotees and journalists, capping a religiously-charged agitation unprecedented in the history of Kerala.
What is the Sabarimala shrine?
Sabarimala is one of the most prominent Hindu pilgrimage centres in Kerala. The temple is open during the 41 days of Mandalapooja (NovemberDecember) Makaravilakku (in January) and Vishu Sankranti (April) — and the first five days of each Malayalam month. The shrine witnesses one of the largest annual pilgrimages in the world — with up to 50 million devotees visiting every year.
Were all women allowed into the shrine before?
For centuries, women of menstruating age were not allowed inside the temple. But in 1991 the Kerala High Court enforced the restriction barring women above the age of 10 and below 50 from the shrine. This is the order that the Supreme Court constitution bench had scrapped through its 4-1 judgement.
What did the court say?
India’s Supreme Court primarily looked at the issue on the basis of gender discrimination and right to worship. The right to worship is given to all devotees and there can be no discrimination on the basis of gender, the court said. The practice of barring women violates constitutional principles, it said.
So why are some women protesting against the entry of other women?
The management of the Sabarimala temple and even the women who are protesting argue that the celibate nature of the temple’s deity, Ayyappa, is protected by India’s constitution. Some Hindu devotees consider menstruating women to be impure. Supporters of the ban have also been angered by the state government’s decision not to seek a review of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
What happens now? Will women be able to go in?
Rahul Easwar, an attorney for the temple, has appealed to women devotees not to enter the temple and give the temple until next week to file a review petition in the Supreme Court. But Kerala police chief Loknath Behra has said that no one will be stopped from going to the temple. “Sabarimala is safe and anyone can come and pray,” he said. It remains to be seen if the women can actually break through the cordon of violence and enter the temple.