Change in stance over women entry?

Portal for virtual queue bars women and other genders (trans) below 50

December 04, 2020 08:40 pm | Updated 10:43 pm IST - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Sabarimala temple.

Sabarimala temple.

The government’s change in stance over women's entry to the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala has raised many eyebrows. The portal for virtual queue booking states that women and other genders (trans) below 50 and above 65 years will not be allowed darshan.

The restriction has come up when the portal commenced booking for additional pilgrims being allowed for darshan during the week days and weekends during the remaining pilgrimage season.

When the temple was opened for pilgrimage on November 16, the government had announced that children below 10 years and people above 65 years will not be permitted to the temple because of COVID-19 restrictions. But, the sudden change in the stance of the government just before local body polls has come in for flak.

The new condition comes two years after the LDF government had given police support for two young women to visit the temple in the wake of the Supreme Court verdict. The government’s decision had come in for opposition from devotees who wanted to stick to the age-old customs of the temple.

The LDF government had also opposed the review pleas filed against the September 28, 2018, verdict that allowed women entry to the temple. With the reported change in stance, the government and the TDB have gone back to preserving the age-old customs at Sabarimala.

Responding to the restrictions, TDB president N. Vasu said on Friday that the portal was maintained by the Kerala Police since 2010. “We have not given any instruction to this effect. Moreover, the entry of women below 50 years is a non-issue now. We want peaceful situation to prevail at Sabarimala. There are several other pressing issues before us to be addressed for pilgrims,” Mr. Vasu said.

“No one in this age group has evinced interest for darshan nor has come for the pilgrimage this season. Except for media reports, no organisation has raised it officially so far. It is still with the Supreme Court,” he added.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.