Sabarimala is sitting on the volcano of violence and hullabaloo, ever since the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in its epoch-making September verdict lifted the ban on the entry of women between the ages 10 t0 50, into the Sabarimala temple. Different Right Wing outfits have protested against the ruling, drawing sharp criticism from liberals and intellectuals. Undoubtedly the verdict is significant as far as women’s emancipation from patriarchal dominance is concerned. There is no denying the fact that, this will bring about a huge change in the mindset of Indians.
Intellectuals deploy strong evidence to buttress their claims to support the verdict of the Supreme Court. But aren’t they selectively taking into account their alleged silence, about the rights of Muslim women? Hardly 1%-2% of Indian Mosques allow entry of Muslim women into Mosques. If you ask the mosque authorities the reason behind not permitting the women entering the mosque, they would reply “the lack of space at the mosque premises and societal reasons have barred the women from entering the Mosque”. Otherwise, there is no problem as per them. Whatever the reasons are, one cannot deny the violation of gender equality in this case.
After all these things, intellectuals and activists are maintaining a surprising silence which highlights nothing but their hypocrisy and selective attitude towards women. The emancipation of women from male dominance would be possible only when women of all ages regardless of religion, caste and creed wouldn’t be deprived of their basic rights.