BFF-16,17 India temple trailblazers braving threats and family anger

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INDIA-WOMEN-TEMPLE-POLITICS-INTERVIEW

India temple trailblazers braving threats and family anger

KERALA, India, Jan 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Bindu Ammini and Kanakadurga are
living on the run since infuriating Hindu traditionalists by entering one of
India’s holiest temples that for generations banned nearly all women.

In black robes and under cover of darkness, the two women evaded a
blockade to enter the remote hilltop Sabarimala temple early on January 2,
setting off violent protests across southern Kerala state.

Physical threats have since forced the temple trailblazers into hiding,
and they have moved to more than 10 different safe houses.

But they told AFP in an interview at a secret location that they hope to
escape their clandestine existence in the coming days to take more action on
Sabarimala, as well as face the ire of their families.

Both were unrepentant over their defiant gesture, which turned them into
heroes for women’s groups, but hate figures for Hindu hardliners.

“I wanted to exercise my right as a devotee, that’s all,” said
Kanakadurga, a 39-year-old government worker who like many people in southern
India uses just one name.

“This was another step forward to reinforce gender equality.”

Getting access to the women meant going through a string of
intermediaries, switching cars and turning off phones before being taken to a
villa where the pair were waiting.

They said they would leave their latest bolthole for an 11th safe house
the next morning.

– Social flashpoint –

Sabarimala has become a new flashpoint for Indian women in their battle
for social change.

The country saw massive protests after the brutal gang rape and murder
of a student on a Delhi bus in 2012 and last year female actors, journalists
and academics detailed cases of sexual aggression.

Bindu and Kanakadurga said they believed only extremists wanted to harm
them, adding that most worshippers did not harass them when they went to
Sabarimala, where up to five million people trek each year.

MORE/MR/ 1048 hrs
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“The real devotees caused us absolutely no problems. We stopped for
refreshments on the way and all behaved as though we were just another
pilgrim,” said Bindu, a 40-year-old law professor. “It is only a select few
who are politically motivated who always cause trouble for us.”

After India’s Supreme Court ruled on September 28 that all women should
be allowed into the temple, the pair linked up on social media. They were
among scores of women who tried to reach Sabarimala soon after, but were
blocked by thousands of opponents.

Kanakadurga said the authorities did not know in advance that they would
enter the temple on January 2 and police there “did for us what they would
have done for any other devotee”.

– Mother’s anger –

“Police made sure we got out safely from the temple. But after that we
did not want them involved, so now we are on our own,” she said.

“But we both hope we can come out of hiding in the next week to resume
our normal lives.”

Their actions have also angered family members.

“I have my family’s complete support except for my mother, who genuinely
believes I should not have broken tradition,” said Bindu. “But I know that
she is concerned for me, I respect her right to a different opinion.”

Kanakadurga did not tell her family in advance that she was going to
Sabarimala.

“Had I told them, they would surely have done everything to block me. So
because I kept them in the dark, there is friction between us, but I think it
will only be temporary.

“Most people are with me and that gives me courage.”

Hours after the women walked into Sabarimala, violent protests erupted
across Kerala and more than 1,000 people were arrested.

The temple priest ordered purification rites because women of
menstruating age had entered the shrine.

Bindu is from the Dalit community, a downtrodden caste considered
“untouchable” until this was declared illegal under the 1950 constitution.

She said she would go to the Supreme Court to seek action against the
priest for breaching India’s caste laws.

“By holding purification rituals after my visit to the temple, what the
priest did was practise untouchability,” said Bindu.

“It is an offence, so Kanaka and I have made up our minds to go to the
Supreme Court against the priest.”

– Political fuse –

Their entry into the temple has lit a political fuse as India prepares
for general elections in the coming months.

The ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sided with
devotees who accuse the Supreme Court of rejecting their beliefs by letting
women in.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi meanwhile said Sunday there was
“validity” in both sides of the argument.

Sabarimala is dedicated to the celibate deity Ayyappa, and followers
believe letting in women goes against his wishes.

A longstanding ban on women was made legal in 1991 by the Kerala High
Court, but the Supreme Court overruled this as unconstitutional and
discriminatory.

Some BJP leaders have called Bindu and Kanakadurga anarchists and anti-
Hindu, but the women dismissed the claims.

“We were not the first ones to try to enter Sabarimala. Scores of women
went in the past, but failed,” said Kanakadurga.

“I am a believer who always wanted to worship Ayyappa at the Sabarimala
temple.”

BSS/AFP/MR/ 1048 hrs