Two women, under 50, enter Sabarimala; temple shut for 'purification'
What's the story
On Wednesday, Sabarimala Temple was shut down at 10:30 AM and will be opened an hour later, after 'purification' rituals as two women devotees entered it around 3:45 AM.
The women scripted history by entering the shrine of Lord Ayappa after the Supreme Court lifted a ban, in September last year, which barred women of menstruating age from offering prayers.
The women identified as Bindu and Kanakdurga, claimed they prayed at the temple.
Twitter Post
Watch: Amid high security, women enter temple
#WATCH Two women devotees Bindu and Kanakdurga entered offered prayers at Kerala's #SabarimalaTemple at 3.45am today pic.twitter.com/hXDWcUTVXA
— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2019
Failed attempts
Many women, including Trupti Desai, failed to enter shrine
The women, both in their 40s, had unsuccessfully tried to enter the temple in December 2018 but had to retreat after protests.
They started their trek at midnight in presence of heavy security.
Notably, many women tried to enter the temple but couldn't. In November last year, Pune based activist Trupti Desai couldn't leave Kochi Airport in the presence of a sea of protesters.
Details
Earlier, women weren't given praying kits by the priest
In December, women aged between 10-50 and belonging to Chennai-based Manithi outfit, faced angry protests at the foothills.
One of the women, U Thilagavathi, said the priest at Pamba refused to give them irumudi, the prayer kit which devotees carry on their heads.
While they were confident the deity would protect them, protesters forced them to return to base camp.
Modi's words
Recently, PM Modi spoke about protecting Sabarimala's traditions
Notably, on Tuesday Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed to support the decades-old tradition of Sabarimala which prohibited women from praying there.
Speaking to ANI, PM Modi said people should read the dissenting judgment of Justice Indu Malhotra on the matter.
He added Triple Talaq matter and Sabarimala wasn't the same. The former is about gender equality and the latter is a religious issue.
The wall
#SabrimalaForAll: On Tuesday, lakhs formed women wall across Kerala
While the Sabarimala issue became highly-political, lakhs of women in Kerala formed a human wall to make the temple inclusive for all.
The event, organized by CPI(M)-led LDF government and several community outfits, was called 'vanitha mathil'.
In nearly 14 districts, women came out in streets in support of the landmark SC judgment and against RSS' idea which supports the ban.
Twitter Post
The wall was huge
A time lapse video that shows you how big the scale of the #VanithaMathil was. #WomenWall #WomensWallKerala pic.twitter.com/k98sR1cB1O
— Moosa (@mooserbaer) January 1, 2019