Sabarimala: Should Faith be a Roadblock to Gender Equality

The Sabarimala shrine bans women between the ages of 10 and 50 to access the temple to worship. The shrine’s controller Travancore Devaswom Board cites the vow of celibacy taken by Lord Ayappa, the impurity linked with menstruation and the 41-day penance as justifications for this age-old practice. Each of these reasons directly or indirectly discriminate against women and also stands contrary to the text and spirit of the Indian Constitution. The view of the defenders is that the Constitution grants the right to determine its own rules to every religious denomination. They further state that women can visit any…