Women...Are they inferior?

As the recent Sabarimala controversy continues to rock the country, the priests and women activists anxiously wait for the capricious verdict from the Supreme Court. But what I fail to understand is what is wrong with women entering the holy portal?

The Sabarimala shrine, where women between the ages of 10 and 55 are strictly prohibited, is a shrine to male celibacy. Lord Ayappan is said to be the god of the brahmachari. In that case even married men should not me allowed. If women are allowed into Sabarimala, says the thantri, the entire edifice of the temple will collapse and the very reason for the arduous pilgrimage will be nullified. Under the camouflage of traditions, they want to emphasize that religion is pure and women are dirty. The perverted hatred of woman’s body. Purity….How do you mete this quality? Is purity limited to anatomy? What about integrity of soul? Does that insinuate that men entering the sanctified portal are free of malevolence? Forget the common man, even the so called descendants of God succumb under the pressure of meretricious iniquity.

The deeper question is…Are religions hostile to women? Woman is blessed with the inimitable potential of nurturing a new life in her womb. When the nature itself has bestowed her position next to God, who are we mortals to challenge the decision? This issue is not limited to sabarimala; it extends to day today life as well where womanhood is condemned as sin. In most nuclear families it becomes a period of oppression for the woman when the Ayyappa season begins. The kind of trauma a woman undergoes due to this primitive and distorted belief is not yet being debated. It is a silent scream.

With women attempting revolutionary changes to alter the outlook of society which is primitively male dominated, these religious fallacies prove to be major hurdles. The religions are on collision course with modernity, and unless religions reform themselves, societies will never change. So to change the society we have to instigate people to contemplate, instead of meekly accepting the meaningless customs and traditions. Equality among sexes can achieved only if there is social parity and this can be attained only by changing the mindset of the people.