New Delhi: After victory of the women by getting entry in the sanctum sanctorum of the Shani Shinganapur temple in Maharashtra, now it is turn of other temples, especially most popular Sabarimala Ayyappa Hindu temple in Kerala, in connection of which the Supreme Court of India yesterday, sought to say that the temples which are denying or restricting the entry of women undermine the fight for gender equality and have no constitutional right to do so.
The Top Court further sought to tell the board which manages the said Sabarimala Ayyappa Hindu temple in the State of Kerala to explain as to why it bans the entry of women.
The bench of the top court of the country led by Justice- Dipak Misra and other two judges said that the “What right does the temple have to forbid women from entering any part of the temple?” Moreover, the bench further added that “Can you deny a woman her right to climb Mount Everest? The reasons for banning anything must be common for all.”
Thus, the court sought to say that the discrimination on the gender basis “in such a matter is unacceptable.” Also it said that the arguments from the side of temple must be based on the Constitution of India.
It is notable that the said concerned temple at Kerala is one of the few temples in India where the Entry of female human beings (between the age group of 10 and 50) have been banned and this tradition is age old. The tradition requiring the imposing of such ban says that the women having menstruation issues are impure.
Moreover, while there is a strong struggle on the parts of the women to get their lawful entry in the temples for taking advantage of their constitutional right to practice religion and offer pray, the religious gurus and priests also found equipping themselves to fight against their claim. However, when there is a legal and legitimate claim, the courts can test the same on the constitutional grounds and as such there would be no chance of survival of evil trends in the society.
