36-year-old Kerala activist claims to enter Sabarimala Temple
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 9 (IBNS): A 36-year-old activist from Kerala named Manju has claimed that she entered the Sabarimala temple, media reports said.
Manju's claim has been supported by Facebook group called 'Renaissance Kerala Towards Sabarimala'.
It has posted a series of videos and photos of Manju entering the temple.
In one of the videos, Manju is heard saying, "I entered Sabarimala on 8th January. I travelled from Thrissur by bus and faced no resistance as a young woman devotee, even from other devotees. I was in the temple for around two hours, for various rituals."
According to reports, Manju did not seek police protection while entering the temple.
Media reports also suggested that the woman might have dyed her hair, as her photos showed, to look elderly and avoid protests.
She had earlier tried to enter the temple in October as well but on reaching Pamba she was not allowed to proceed further.
Three other women create history:
Earlier two women in their mid 40s entered the shrine with police protection.
Video footage of the incident, where two women could be seen entering the temple, had gone viral on social media.
These two women were identified as activists Bindhu and Kanaka Durga.
After the women's entry, the temple was closed for "purification rituals", a move that was slammed by various outfits saying it was practising untouchability.
Last week, Kerala police claimed a Sri Lankan woman named Sasikala entered the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine. However, Sasikala denied saying she was close to 18 golden steps that lead to the shrine but was stopped by police despite knowing that she has crossed her menstrual age.
Her passport gave her date of birth as December 3, 1972, reported The Hindu.
Why is the controversy?
On Sept 28, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court had lifted the ban on women's entry into the Sabarimala temple declaring the relevant rules as unconstitutional.
For centuries, menstruating women had been banned from entering the temple in devotion to Lord Ayyappa.
Following the top court's verdict, the shrine opened on Oct 18 for the first time allowing menstruating women, belonging to the age group of 10 to 50, to enter the temple.
However, several men and women had protested outside the temple, and tried to prevent the entry of women in the shrine.
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