Devotees wait in queues inside the premises of the Sabarimala temple in Pathanamthitta district.
Four days after the doors of the Sabarimala temple in Kerala opened after the Supreme Court stepped in to overturn a nearly three-decade-old ruling formalising a ban on women of menstruating age. Today, two women in their early forties who started walking towards the Sabarimala temple today were stopped by protesters 200 metres from the base camp Pamba. Vasanthi, 41, and Aadhiseshi, 42, said the protesters surrounded them, blocked their way and forced them to return to the base camp. Yesterday, another women arrived at Pamba, attempting to enter the temple. However, Manju, general secretary of the Kerala Dalit Mahila Federation was told that no police protection will be provided until background check is done to verify if she was an activist. The decision is likely to be announced today. Police sources said the woman has a few cases against her and alleged links to a radical organisation.
Manju's plan for the trek was also thwarted after heavy rains in the area. If she is given the security she will succeed in entering the temple to script history. No woman in this age group between 10 and 50 years have made it to the temple.