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Hindu priests block women from entering temple in supreme court ruling

Hindu priests and temple staff sit on a protest against a ruling to let women of menstruating age entering Sabarimala temple: AP
Hindu priests and temple staff sit on a protest against a ruling to let women of menstruating age entering Sabarimala temple: AP

Dozens of Hindu priests have prevented women from entering a temple, defying a ruling from India’s top court.

For centuries women between the ages of 10 and 50 have been barred from the Sabarimala temple in the southern state of Kerala.

Banning women of menstrual age is required to appease the temple’s chief deity, Ayyappa, a yoga-practising god who is considered eternally celibate by followers.

But earlier this year the country’s supreme court ruled that the ban was illegal and women should be admitted.

The ruling led to street protests from hardline Hindu groups. Priests have also joined the conservative protesters and have threatened to stop rituals and prayers if women are allowed to enter.

“We have decided to lock the temple and hand over the keys and leave. I stand with the devotees. I do not have any other option,” said head priest Kandararu Rajeevaru.

Two young women, a journalist and an activist, were forced to turn back after they had reached the temple under a heavy police escort.

Kadakampalli Surendran, a Kerala state minister, said the temple was not a place for activism and the government was not responsible for providing security to activists.

He implied that authorities initially thought the two women were genuine devotees but at the end refused to enforce the court ruling to let them enter.

The minister’s statement came despite the fact that the state government, run by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), vowed to implement the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The two women were met with protests from the priests who sat on the steps leading to the temple, clapping and chanting religious hymns.

Hundreds of protesters have blocked the entry of women of menstruating age since the temple reopened on Wednesday following the Supreme Court’s ruling on 28 September that says equality is supreme irrespective of age and gender.

Protesters vowed to file a petition with the Supreme Court next week seeking a review of the ruling.

They said the celibacy of the temple’s presiding deity, Ayyappa, is protected by India’s constitution, and that women of all ages can worship at other Hindu temples.

Agencies contributed to this report