Pilgrims' Progress

BJP launches violent protests as two women under 50 enter Sabarimala, even as more women plan to trek to the hill shrine.

- Cithara Paul

BARELY 12 HOURS after lakhs of women lined up along the entire stretch of Kerala to create a ‘women’s wall’ in support of “renaissance values and gender equality”, two women quietly stepped into the Sabarimala temple. By then, more than three months had passed after the Supreme Court lifted the ban on women between the ages of 10 and 50 visiting the hill abode of Lord Ayyappa. A few hours later, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan confirmed that the two women, Bindu and Kanakadurga, had entered the temple. “The government, being duty-bound to obey the Supreme Court order, ensured their entry,’’ said Vijayan.

Bindu and Kanakadurga entered the temple in the wee hours of January 2, wearing the traditional black dress of Ayyappa devotees. Bindu, a dalit, and Kanakadurga, a Brahmin, had the mandatory irumudikkettu on their heads as they folded their hands before Ayyappa, who, according to tradition, prefers to avoid the presence of women as he is a staunch celibate.

Bindu, 41, is a lecturer at the School of Legal Studies, Kannur University, and a leading dalit activist. She has a 12-year-old daughter. Kanakadurga, 40, works as a manager at the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation. Her husband is an engineer, and they have two children. Kanakadurga is from Malappuram. Bindu and Kanakadurga became friends through a Facebook group meant for connecting women keen on visiting Sabarimala.