What is a Sanctum Sanctorum? Let us pause and first understand this term which has sparked heated aruguments and debates in the country.
Sanctum Sanctorum for me refers the the goodness of human souls, and the holiest of places. It is a divine experience for a devotee between herself and the god, if she is a believer. However, women have been discriminated from entering the holy places by the religious clergy who consider themselves as the mediator between people and the god.
I refuse to believe that god herself would have set such extreme discriminatory practices which leads to extreme form of cruelty and suffering for women. To name a few of them, sati, defacing and dehumanising widow, dowry killings, witch hunting, female genital mutlilation, debarring women from right to property, not allowing women to perform last rites, keeping women as devadasis to serve temple authorities, child marriages, female foeticide and many more.
Women, who have been discriminated in the name of traditions are looking for an answer from everyone asking who has set these traditions. I want to know which religion justifies these practices. In fact these rituals have been made by accepting all the religious traditions, codified in the name of personal law.
It is high time that we all think about modern democratic law which will reflect the spirit of India’s constitution and guarantee equal rights to the women of India.
Discuss this article on Facebook
