Bindu Ammini, lawyer and activist who was one of the two women between the ages of 10 to 50 to enter the Sabarimala temple, is all set to leave Kerala. Her reason – she is tired of the ostracisation she has experienced in the state and this is her way of registering protest. Bindu, who is working as a temporary lecturer at the Kozhikode Government Law College, said that she will not be renewing her application. “Every year I renew my application and get a job. This year too, if I apply I will get through as I have experience. But I did not want to do that and stay here. I am not leaving Kerala because some other state is better. I am leaving as a protest,” she told TNM.
Bindu, who made history on January 2, 2019 when she, along with another woman Kanaka Durga, visited the Sabarimala shrine, alleged that she has faced unpleasant experiences from various sections of the society, whether it was from the government, politicians, or activists.
“My name figures in the Public Service Commission’s legal assistant list. But the list was cancelled as the validity was over. Though there was a favourable court order, the government did not act on it. There are a lot of vacancies, but still no notification. I think that all this is done deliberately to show that people like me are unwelcome,” she said.
“Gender Park (an initiative of the Government of Kerala to work towards gender equality) is just 500 m from my college. I was intentionally not invited to any of the seminars, workshops and other programmes that happen there. Not just that, I was ignored for other government programmes too, citing some reason or the other,” she added.
Bindu said that she had been working hard but still did not get the results she expected. “I have the same experience from social activists too. Still I remained active, but I had to fight on all sides to survive. So this is my protest against the government as well as against some hypocritical activists,” she added.
Bindu faced threats and was assaulted several times, even in public, but she did not get support from the state government. “I was assaulted several times in public places, but I did not get justice or a positive response from the law and order system here. I have lost trust in them,” she said.
“I will never regret what I did, that is my firm decision. The politics I espouse cannot be destroyed through all these attacks,” she added.
Bindu Ammini is currently moving to Delhi. She will not be discontinuing ‘She Point’, an initiative she started to provide legal aid, short stay, and a library for women in Wayanad. She said she wanted to clear off the financial liabilities associated with the project.