Favour entry of women into Sabarimala, Kerala govt tells SC

The temple does not allow young women into the shrine. While there are some who claim that this is because they are ‘unclean’ when menstruating, others claim the ban has been imposed...

The Kerala government today said that women of all ages must be allowed into the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala. The stand taken by the government is opposite to what the earlier Congress-led government had said on the issue.

The Kerala government today told the Supreme Court that it favours entry women of all ages into the sanctum sanctorum of the Sabarimala temple. The Supreme Court will hear the matter next on February 2017.

The temple does not allow young women into the shrine. While there are some who claim that this is because they are 'unclean' when menstruating, others claim the ban has been imposed because Lord Ayyappa is considered a celibate yogi.

Kerala Dewaswom Minister Kadkampally Surendran had in June said the LDF government was ready for a referendum on the entry of women into Sabarimala temple.

The LDF government had adopted the previous Chandy government's stand justifying the restriction on the entry of women between the age of 10 and 50.

However, the next month, CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan that the LDF government would file a fresh affidavit in connection with the issue in the Supreme Court where the case pertaining to entry of women in Sabarimala is pending. He said the CPM was for entry of women not only in Sabarimala but also in all temples.

Last year, there was outrage when the chief of the Sabarimala Devasom Board, Prayar Gopalakrishnan, had said women will be allowed into the temple when a machine is invented to show if they are menstruating.

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