Gender equality activist Trupti Desai said that she, along with around 100 women members of the Bhumata Brigade, would enter Kerala’s Sabarimala temple between January 15 and 25. The temple doesn’t allow women of menstrual age to enter its precincts.
Said Desai to THE WEEK, “God does not discriminate between men and women. It is illegal not to allow women of menstrual age into Sabarimala. To menstruate is a blessing. It is a natural process. The constitution of India gives us, the women, the right to enter the Sabarimala Temple.”
Desai said she had the support of Malayali women. “We were supposed to come during mandala season [November to mid January]. But we postponed our trip because of the heavy rush at the temple during the time. We didn’t want to create inconvenience to the lakhs of devotees who come to the temple during these months.”
Desai said that she and her team would march to the temple and protest in a peaceful manner. “We will not attack people who stop us from entering the temple. We will not get angry at them. We are coming with a clear message. We will tell people that discrimination of such nature can’t continue for long and it has to change.”
Apparently, it is said that Desai and other feminist leaders are having backroom negotiations with temple authorities for reaching a compromise. As part of the plan, the Devaswom Board, which administers the temple, could allow women during non-mandala season [February to October, when the temple is opened for five days each month]. Allowing women of all age groups during mandala season is not practical, in view of the rush. During mandala season devotees follow an austere regimen for 41 days before setting out for the seat of the lord Ayyappa. They prepare for the pilgrimage by cleansing their body and mind, wearing a garland of beads, eating only vegetarian food and abstaining from sex, alcohol and impure thoughts.
Said Kerala Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran to THE WEEK, “As of now, we will not allow Trupti Desai to enter the Sabarimala Temple, as an existing law prevents women of certain age from entering the temple. The government is not aware of any compromise solution in this regard.”
The Left Democratic Front government in Kerala, some months ago, had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court that said that women of all ages should be allowed into the Sabarimala Temple, reversing the stand of the previous Congress-led government. Following a petition filed by a lawyers’ group in Delhi, the Supreme Court questioned the age-old tradition at Sabarimala Temple. The court will take up the case again in February.
Said Rahul Easwar, activist and a member of the Sabarimala tantri family, to THE WEEK, “Come what may, we would resist the ultra feminist line taken vis-a-vis Sabarimala Temple. It is a violation of Article 25 of the Constitution, which is the right to freedom of religion. Nearly, five lakh women visit Sabarimala every year. Devotees come to Sabarimala by conserving their sexual energy and by not indulging in physical relationships with women. So allowing women of all age groups is not proper.” Easwar said that his team would prevent Desai from entering the temple. “We won’t get violent. We will serve them appam and aravana [two major offerings at the temple], and show them the map to go to temples like the Attukal Temple in Kerala, where men are not allowed to visit the temple on certain days,” he said.
