In another landmark judgement today, the Supreme Court of India opened the doors of the Sabarimala Temple of women in the age group of 10-50. The SC noted that the practice was an illegal and unconstitutional one and banned it.
According to the Times of India, the top court stated that all devotees are equal and there could not be any discrimination on the basis of gender.
Banning women in the age group of 10-50 was violative of constitutional principles, SC said.
The court was also of the opinion that the dignity of a person cannot be subjected to a mob morality.
The SC bench also said that the menstruation status of a woman cannot be ground to deny her entry into any temple and termed the practice illegal.
Shockingly, the only one amongst the SC bench to vote otherwise was Justice Indu Malhotra, the only woman on the panel.
She was of the opinion that the existing practices at Sabarimala constituted a separate denomination and they should be allowed to practice their beliefs, including the one about not letting women inside the temple.
Well, the Supreme Court has spoken. And from this day, the century-old custom to not let women between the age of 10-50, worship in the Sabarimala temple had now been obliterated. We still have a long way to go, but this seems like a good start.