Female reporters attacked at Indian temple amid dispute over ban on women

Female journalists have been attacked by right-wing Hindu groups after they attempted to prevent women from entering a holy temple in India.

The country’s Supreme Court ruled that the Sabarimala temple in the state of Kerala could no longer ban women between the age of 10 and 50 from entering – overturning an age-old custom.

Hard-line Hindu groups have threatened to commit mass suicide to prevent women from entering the temple in what has become a cultural battle with the Supreme Court.

The Hindu groups, that include Shiv Sena, formerly allied with prime minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, argue that banning women of menstrual age from entering is required to appease the temple's chief deity, Ayyappan, depicted as a yoga-practising God considered eternally celibate by followers.

Many female worshippers have been prevented from entering the temple by demonstrators and a female journalist from CNN-News 18 was attacked by protesters, who smashed the windows of the car she was travelling in, footage showed.

"It was shocking that officers were there doing nothing," the reporter, Radhika Ramaswamy, said in a broadcast. "Protesters had free rein, attacking our vehicle."

Footage showed police chasing protesters through a forest near Nilakkal, the main entry point to the temple. Demonstrators had also apparently been throwing stones.

Saritha Balan, a journalist from online publication The News Minute, was kicked by protesters while accompanying devotees trying to access the site.

Earlier, a lone woman, identified as Libi, travelled to the temple by bus and was stopped near the gateway by a group of protesters.

"When democracy and the Supreme Court order are being defied by protesters, I have come with the firm intent of visiting Sabarimala," Libi, who uses only one name, told Asianet News.

"I am not scared. The police are providing full security. I have come alone," she said, adding she was ready to face trouble.

Kerala's government, which runs the state along secular lines, has pledged to uphold the court ruling.

Police said around 500 officers, including 100 female officers, had been deployed and so far more than 50 people had been charged in connection with the clashes.

"Nobody will be allowed to prevent anybody. We will do everything possible to implement the law of the land," Manoj Abraham, inspector general of police, said.

"None will be allowed to take law into their hands."

Pilgrims have for centuries visited the Sabarimala temple, in a remote tiger reserve in the Western Ghats mountain range.

Many of those visiting the site take a vow of celibacy for 41 days before beginning a trek through the mountains to the temple, located around 3,000 feet above sea level.

Agencies contributed to this report