In a pathbreaking judgement, on Wednesday the Bombay High Court ruled that women cannot be barred from entering the Shani Shinganapur temple. The ruling said that no rule should prevent women from entering temples and in this regard, the Maharashtra government has been asked to reply about its stand on women entry into the temple in two days. The High court has also ordered the state to give protection to women’s entry in such places.
This move has been well received by women activists across the country, and primarily from the Bhumata Ranragini Brigade (BRB), a group that spearheaded the movement almost two months ago, that demanded an entry in temples that disallow women. The movement gained momentum across the country, and a Muslim women’s group, Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, also came out in support of their Hindu sisters fighting for access to the Shani temple, and called for action against “male-dominated bodies” across all religions.
We at CSR, welcome this move, and believe that gender sensitivity needs to permeate all spheres of life, for a society to be truly gender neutral. We support this landmark judgement wholeheartedly, and hope that this paves the way for equal religious rights for women, among other things.
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