Months after the Supreme Court verdict allowed women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple and the turmoil following it, two women below the age of 50 have finally managed to enter the shrine and perform darshan, as per reports. A top source in the Kerala police said that the two women, Bindu Ammini and Kanakadurga, both below 50 years of age, entered the temple before 4 in the morning on Wednesday.
Videos that have emerged show the two women dressed in black clothes at the Sannidhanam. Top sources in the Kerala police said that policemen in mufti had accompanied the two women. The women, according to police sources, entered Sannidhanam through the north entrance of the temple. They did not climb the 18 steps, which is the route that all other devotees use; and went in through the VIP entrance. It is, however, not clear how and when they reached Pamba and started the ascent to the shrine.
Bindu told Asianet on a telephonic interview that she, Kanakadurga and a few companions had conducted their Darshan at Sabarimala at around 3.30. “We conducted Darshana with police protection. We informed police about our arrival once we reached Pamba, and faced no protests or issues from devotees.”
On December 24, the two women - Bindu (42) from Koilandy and Kanakadurga (44) from Angadipuram in Malappuram district - were about to reach Sannidhanam when massive protests broke out. The protests erupted on Chandranandan road, which connects Marakootam and Sannidhanam.
The two women attempted to enter the temple amid a 50-member police battalion. However, when they were less than a kilometre away from the Sannidhanam, the police decided to abandon their attempts to climb further uphill.
Following this, the two women, while climbing down, had told the media, “We don’t want to go down, but the police have said that there is a law and order situation. They should, however, promise to bring us back to the temple another time when the situation is better."
Though they had to abandon their trip then as police refused to give more security, Bindu and Kanakadurga had clearly said that they would come back to Sabarimala.
Incidentally, this development happened a day after the Women's Wall, an event organised in the wake of the strong opposition to the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages entry into the Sabarimala temple.