This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/world/asia/india-women-wall-sabarimala.html

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Millions Form a 300-Mile Human Chain to Protest Sexism in India 2 Women Enter Sabarimala Temple, Indian Shrine That Once Barred Women
(about 3 hours later)
NEW DELHI — For a few moments on New Year’s Day, millions of women stood shoulder to shoulder along highways in southern India, creating a human wall 300 miles long intended to stand fast against sexism and oppression. NEW DELHI — Two women, accompanied by plainclothes police officers under the cover of darkness early on Wednesday morning, entered a centuries-old Hindu shrine in southern India that has long barred women of childbearing age — part of a continuing push for women’s equality in the country.
“We are taking the pledge that we will uphold renaissance values,” they chanted. “We will stand for equality for women! We will fight for secularism!” In response, protests broke out around Kerala, the state where the shrine, the Sabarimala Temple, is located. According to local news reports, the police moved relatives of one of the women who entered the temple into a safe house.
Though Indians often demonstrate through so-called human chains, the “women’s wall” in the state of Kerala on Tuesday was extraordinary for what prompted it. Habeeb Ullah, an officer stationed near the temple, said the two women, whose names were given only as Bindu and Kanakadurga, were “real heroines.”
For months, women in India have led a revolt. In the fall, the country’s nascent #MeToo movement suddenly jolted forward. Dozens of urban women posted graphic stories on social media of sexual assault and harassment by public figures in journalism, entertainment, the arts and the highest levels of government. Their protests were unusually successful, and many of the accused men resigned. But when news broke that the women had made it inside the temple, a Hindu priest shut down the complex for “purification rituals,” which typically occur when blood is spilled or children accidentally urinate.
More barriers fell in the hours after the women joined hands. Soon after the wall disbanded, shaky video surfaced of two women in long black robes stepping through the golden doors of the Sabarimala Temple, a centuries-old Hindu shrine in Kerala that draws millions of pilgrims every year. Across Kerala on Wednesday, protesters forced shops to close, blocked traffic, pelted stones at the police, who fired tear gas canisters, and vandalized a government office in one district. At least a few police officers were injured, according to local media reports.
When India’s Supreme Court struck down a rule barring women of childbearing age from the temple, ruling the exclusion unconstitutional, thousands of protesters blocked the entrance of the temple. Several dozen women have tried to enter the temple since October, after India’s Supreme Court ruled that the ban on women of childbearing age was unconstitutional. But none made it inside as thousands of protesters blocked the temple’s entrance.
Several dozen women had tried to enter the temple, but none made it inside. Angry mobs of men, many of them linked to far-right Hindu nationalist groups, shouted in their faces or threw rocks at them. In the hours before the two women entered the temple on Wednesday, the Communist Party of India, which governs Kerala, organized other demonstrations — partly about access to the temple but also as a broad opportunity, organizers said, to highlight gender equality in a country recently named the world’s most dangerous for women.
Habeeb Ullah, a police officer stationed near the Sabarimala Temple, said the two Hindu women, whose names were given only as Bindu and Kanakadurga, who peacefully entered around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday were “real heroines.” On New Year’s Day, a “human chain” — a frequent form of protest in India — stood shoulder to shoulder along highways in southern India, creating a wall 300 miles long, according to party officials.
Access to the temple was but one concern for the many women forming Tuesday’s wall. They preferred to see the gathering as a broad opportunity to highlight gender equality in a country recently named the world’s most dangerous for women. Communist Party said 5.5 million people were in that chain. The local police authorities estimated the number at three million.
The Communist Party of India, which governs the state and sponsored the gathering, said Kerala would never again become a “lunatic asylum.” “We are taking the pledge that we will uphold renaissance values,” the protesters chanted. “We will stand for equality for women! We will fight for secularism!”
Addressing a crowd on Tuesday, Subhashini Ali, a member of the party, pushed the rhetoric further, calling out “evil forces” that were trying to manage women’s choices by creating “a floodlike crisis in the name of casteism, tradition and culture.” In the fall, India’s nascent #MeToo movement suddenly jolted forward. Dozens of women in cities posted graphic stories on social media of sexual assault and harassment by public figures in journalism, entertainment, the arts and the highest levels of government.
“We can speak for ourselves,” she said onstage in the city of Kochi. “We want our rights, our equality and we have to move forward.” Their protests were unusually successful, and many of the accused men resigned.
The backgrounds of those forming the wall were mixed. Women came in saris, burqas, nuns’ habits and jeans. Men joined. Participants raised their arms with clenched fists, chattering about raising quotas for women in government posts and improving access for Dalits, low-caste Indians once known as untouchables. On Tuesday in Kerala, Subhashini Ali, a Communist Party member, called out “evil forces” that she said were trying to manage women’s choices by creating “a floodlike crisis in the name of casteism, tradition and culture.”
In some areas, crowds swelled so much that participants had to form rows several people deep. “We can speak for ourselves,” she said onstage at an event in the city of Kochi. “We want our rights, our equality, and we have to move forward.”
By the afternoon, as many as five million people were believed to be involved, creating a line that stretched north along the coast from the state’s capital, Thiruvananthapuram. Over 1,000 miles away, smaller groups in the capital, New Delhi, gathered in solidarity. The backgrounds of those forming the human wall were mixed, participants said. Women came in saris, burqas, nuns’ habits and jeans. Men joined as well.
“It was not just a wall,” said Sajitha Manaakat Veettil, 32, a teacher who participated from Kerala, “it was a great wall.” Participants raised their arms with clenched fists. Some talked about increasing quotas for women in government posts and improving access for Dalits, low-caste Indians once known as untouchables.
Though Kerala’s development measures are better than most Indian states, attributable to higher levels of education and literacy, many participants were realistic about the challenges women face across the country. In some areas, participants said, crowds swelled to such an extent that people had to form rows several people deep.
When news broke that women had made it inside the Sabarimala Temple, for instance, a Hindu priest shut down the complex for “purification rituals,” which typically occur when blood is spilled or children accidentally urinate. “It was not just a wall,” said Sajitha Manaakat Veettil, 32, a teacher who participated from Kerala. “It was a great wall.”
Protests, fanned by political leaders, broke out around Kerala. According to local news reports, the police moved relatives of one of the woman who entered the temple into a safe house. Though Kerala’s development measures are better than most Indian states — attributable to higher levels of education and literacy — many participants were realistic about the challenges women face across the country.
Members of India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P., which is center-right but has ties to Hindu nationalist groups, called news of the women’s entry a “black day.” Other parties also protested, demanding the resignation of top officials in Kerala. Members of India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party, which is center-right but has ties to Hindu nationalist groups, called news of the women’s entry into the temple a “black day.” Other parties also protested, demanding the resignation of top officials in Kerala.
B. Gopalakrishnan, a spokesman for the B.J.P. in Kerala, said some of the women joining the wall had been forced to attend. His cousin’s employer, he said, had told her that if she did not participate in the protest she would lose work opportunities. B. Gopalakrishnan, a B.J.P. spokesman in Kerala, said that some women joining the wall had been forced to attend. His cousin’s employer, he said, had told her that if she did not participate in the protest, she would lose work opportunities.
Some people were bribed to attend, he said. He also said some people had been bribed.
“This is not a woman’s wall, it is a compulsion wall,” he said. “This is not a woman’s wall — it is a compulsion wall,” he said.
Bhakti Pasrija Sethi, a lawyer based in New Delhi who was involved in challenging the temple’s entry restrictions, dismissed those assertions, saying the wall was an “indicator of the strong will of ladies who believe the ban is a superstition.” Bhakti Pasrija Sethi, a lawyer in New Delhi who was involved in challenging the temple’s entry restrictions, dismissed those assertions, saying that the wall was an “indicator of the strong will of ladies who believe the ban is a superstition.”
The last 24 hours offered a peek at a more inclusive year, Ms. Sethi said.The last 24 hours offered a peek at a more inclusive year, Ms. Sethi said.
“This is a harbinger of further good things,” she said. “It’s great. It’s great. It’s great.” “This is a harbinger of further good things,” she said. “It’s great.”