Kerala: Women pilgrims have to show age proof to gain entry to Sabarimala Temple
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 4 (IBNS): Women now have to furnish acceptable age proof to enter the Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala in Kerala, according to media reports on Thursday.
Female devotees in the age group of 10-50 years are banned from entering the temple.
The Travancore Devaswom Board, which runs the temple, makes age proof document mandatory for women visiting the temple.
The temple sees a rush of devotees during the annual three-month long pilgrimage that ends with the Makaravilakku Festival in mid-January.
The temple board said that the checking will be done at the base of the hill to prevent women of menstruating age from making the trek to the temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, who is considered to be a celibate, media reported.
According to media reports, a petition challenging the temple's custom of restricting entry of women of a particular age group is pending before the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court.
Image: Travancore Devaswom Board/Facebook
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