KOZHIKODE: The Yukthivadi Sangham (rationalists’ association) has criticised the ban on the entry of women into the Sabarimala shrine.
“It is a human rights violation based on gender discrimination,” T.P. Srinivas, general secretary of the Sangham, told The Hindu. “It is a violation of the gender equality and individual freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.”
Mr. Srinivas said the rationalists were against temple worship, and for that matter, all kinds of worships. However, since the ban on women’s entry to the Sabarimala temple was based on gender discrimination, the Sangham was opposing it. “The ban on women’s entry is a manifestation of the inbuilt discrimination against women in all religions,” he said.
The rationalists’ criticism comes in the context of the threat of the social activist Tripti Desai and her followers to enter the shrine in protest against the ban.
Mr. Srinivas also questioned the ritual of Makara Jyothi within the dense jungles of the reserve forests in Sabarimala. “In a reserve forest, people are not allowed because of the possibility of damage to the forest ecosystem,” he pointed out. “But in Sabarimala, millions of people enter the reserve forests and also light fires.” This was an illegal act carried out with the support of the government, he alleged.
The annual State-level meeting of the Sangham will be held at Kozhikode on January 22. The current socio-cultural issues, such as the increasing intolerance to freedom of expression and attacks on writers and filmmakers for their expressing their opinions would figure at the meeting. The poet Kureeppuzha Sreekumar will open the meeting.
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