New Delhi: Activist Bindu Ammini on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking safe passage and protection for women of all age groups going to the Sabarimala temple.
Ms Ammini in her petition has contended that the top court while referring the issue of the entry of women in the Sabarimala temple to a larger seven-judge bench had not put on hold the operation of 2018 judgment by which women of all age groups were permitted to enter the temple.
The top court while referring the issue of the entry of women in the Sabarimala temple to a larger bench had clubbed it with the issue of Muslim women’s entry to mosques, cases of female genital mutilation in the Dawoodi Bohra community and Parsi women being barred from participating in religious activities of the community if she marries outside the community. Ms Ammini has sought direction to Kerala to ensure safe passage for every women going to the Sabarimala temple without any hindrance from any source, including the state and its agencies.
She has sought further direction to the Kerala government to “respect, fulfil and protect the rights of all women regardless of age to enter the Sabarimala temple without hindrance in any manner whatsoever and in particular by preventing the unruly mobs or individuals from obstructing them from entering the temple”.
Ms Ammini and Kanaka Durga had entered the Sabarimala temple on January 2 this year after the top court verdict in September 2018 allowing women of all ages to enter the shrine.
The top court had on November 14 referred to a seven-judge Constitution Bench the question of the entry of menstruating women in the age group 10 to 50 years in Lord Ayyappa’s Sabarimalsa temple and the issues relating to discriminatory religious practices relating to women in Muslim, Parsi and Dawoodi Bohra community.
