Supreme Court Takes a Stand Against Religious Patriarchy by Amisha Arora
The Supreme Court's Decision on the Sabarimala Case On September 28, 2018, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India ruled that women of all ages are allowed to enter the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala. The decision was a landmark victory for women's rights in India, and it has been met with mixed reactions. Timeline The Sabarimala Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappan, a celibate deity. For centuries, the temple has prohibited women of menstruating age from entering. This practice was based on the belief that menstruating women are impure and that their presence would pollute the temple. In 2006, a group of women filed a petition in the Kerala High Court challenging the ban on women's entry to the temple. The High Court dismissed the petition, upholding the ban. The women then appealed to the Supreme Court. In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the women, striking down the ban on women's entry to the temple. Why is this important? T...