Kerala, a human chain of 3 and a half million women to pray in a Hindu temple
The "wall" is 620 kilometers long. For the first time in the history of India, two women manage to enter the sancta sanctorum. Last September the Supreme Court eliminated the ban that prohibited access to the temple of Sabarimala to women of childbearing age. Solidarity from millions of women and men across the country.
Thiruvananthapuram (AsiaNews / Agencies) - More than 3.5 million Indian women have formed a 620 kilometer long human chain to assert their right to equality and prayer in a Hindu temple.
It took place in Kerala, where yesterday the protesters cover an area of 14 districts. They inaugurated the new year with a very long "wall", affirming the right to enter the temple of Sabarimala. Today for the first time in the history of the country, in the first light of dawn two women around the age of 40 have climbed over the wall and prayed in the sancta sanctorum, the inner part of the temple in the past inaccessible to the faithful.
The story of the Sabarimala temple has been the focus of attention for months. Last September the Indian Supreme Court ruled the illegality of the ban that for hundreds of years prevented women of child-bearing age (10 to 50 years) from entering the temple. The most orthodox devotees, including premier Narendra Modi, claim that the "menstruating" women constitute an offense to the god Ayyappa, to whom the temple is dedicated, since the divinity is unmarried.
Women have gathered solidarity from millions of sympathizers across the country, male and female. In Mumbai, around 1,500 women have created a wall similar to Shivaji Park. In Kerala, thousands of men have joined a second chain to that created by the faithful. In the meantime the temple was reopened, closed for a few hours after a "purification" ritual made necessary after the incursion of the two ladies, identified as Bindu and Kanakdurga.
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