Women devotees tussle online over Sabarimala
SPLIT-VIEW Opinions on temple entry divided among two factions
Not all women are willing to support gender equality crusader Trupti Desai in her attempts to get the heads of religious institutions to permit women to enter temples and mosques in India.
For instance, four women devotees have launched a campaign on Facebook to oppose the entry of women of reproductive age to Kerala’s Sabarimala temple, triggering fresh debates on gender equality on social media.
It has split women devotees into two camps: ‘Ready to wait’ and ‘Why wait’. The first camp has posted pictures, saying women should wait till they get menopause to enter the temple.
The second camp, which is opposing the status quo, has predictably hit back by posting pictures, saying those who are ready to wait simply don’t know the “value of freedom and equality.” The Facebook campaign was launched by four women: Padma Pillai, Anjali George, Suja Pavithran and Shilpa Nair.
“We are all for women. But we are hurt by a concerted campaign triggered by a section of non-believers to discredit the temple and deity. We don’t feel women will attain immortality by breaking an age-old custom,” says Suja Pavithran, adding their campaign was spontaneous and not backed by any group. The main deity at the Sabraimala temple is Lord Ayyappa. Women of reproductive age are barred from the temple as the deity is an eternal celibate. The temple came into the spotlight after the Bombay high court lifted restrictions on women entering the Haji Ali Dargah in Maharashtra.
Supporters of the ‘Ready to wait’ campaign say there is no blanket ban on women. They say only women who are still menstruating are not permitted to enter the temple and it is, therefore, wrong to call it a “gender issue”. “My bhakti is not selfish. I am ready to wait for darshan,” reads a social media post supporting this campaign. “It will show pseudo feminists what true women empowerment is,” reads another.
However, Congress leader Bindu Krishna says religious traditions have conditioned women to believe they are inferior to men. “A biological difference cannot be the yardstick to measure one’s devotion,” she says.
Women who are capable of menstruation and reproduction are allowed only till Pambha,. Women cops are employed at Pambha to screen devotees. If they become suspicious, they ask women devotees to furnish proof to establish their age. Women manage to sneak into the temple every now and then.
The BJP has been more vocal in its attack, accusing the CPI(M)-led LDF government raking up controversies to divert people’s attention from issues like price rise. “The ministers and CPI(M) leaders are creating unnecessary controversies to divert people’s attention from the real issues like price rise,” BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan said.
THE BOMBAY HIGH COURT LIFTED RESTRICTIONS ON WOMEN ENTERING THE HAJI ALI DARGAH IN MAHARASHTRA.