Trupti Desai and the Bombay High Court have changed a 400 year long tradition of non-entry of women into the sanctum sanctorum of Shani Shingnapur temple. The Sabarimala temple entry case is before the Supreme Court. May history repeat itself! Interestingly, Hindu temples have discriminated not only against women and lower castes but Brahmins, too! In 1883, the Bombay High Court ruled in the case of Anandrav Bhikaji Phadke vs. Shankar Daji Charye that Chitpavan Brahmins had a right to exclude Palshe Brahmins from worshipping at a particular temple.
But God in his infinite wisdom created a couple of social reformers. In 1888 Sree Narayana Guru consecrated a sivalingam at Aruvipuram and called it the Ezhava Shivan, unmindful of the Brahmin protests. In 1912 he constructed the Sivagiri shrine for the backward classes to worship. In 1931 the communist leaders P Krishna Pillai and A.K. Gopalan led the Guruvayur temple satyagraha, compelling the authorities to throw open worship to all castes.
In 1936 the Travancore Maharaja Sri Chithra Thirunal issued the Temple Entry Proclamation at a time when social reformers were striving to break the caste barrier. It stated, “There should henceforth be no restriction placed on any Hindu by birth or religion on entering or worshipping at temples…”
A Maharani’s visit to Sabarimala in 1939 in the prime of her youth has been chronicled, making it abundantly clear that the ban on young women is of recent origin. Persons who had their choroonu ceremony at Sabarimala are living among us today and that prompts the question ‘Weren’t the infants accompanied by their young mothers?’ Some of these mothers are among us too. (How I wish they would speak up!)
The Supreme Court will eventually decide whether women can be barred from a place of worship. But temple or mosque entry is not the only issue we need to grapple with. Other questions must be addressed simultaneously. Must sacred rituals be performed only by Brahmin males? Why not by backward caste men and women? No doubt there are a few shrines where puja is performed by women.
The eldest woman of the Thazhamon madom (the family of the Sabarimala tantris) officiates at the Chengannur Mahadeva temple during the Thriputhu. At the Mannarsala naga shrine in Alappuzha district the high priestess is a woman. Yellamma temples in Karnataka and elsewhere have women priestesses. But in general, the privileges of priesthood are denied to women and non-Brahmins, thereby making a mockery of the Indian Constitution.
Whether it is Sabarimala, Shani Shingnapur, Haji Ali or Trimbakeshwar the most diabolic argument of the conservative lobby aims at ‘respecting the sentiments of the devotees’. Should the so-called ‘sentiments’ of male worshippers supercede and subvert the law of the land? Let the courts decide.
Should Women Go To Mosques?
A Saudi cleric recently made news by declaring that women, too, can go to heaven, provided they are accompanied by appropriate male relatives. I’m not sure I’ve got it right. I’ve read the Quran but I have not studied it extensively, so I could be wrong. In any case, I like this guy. He is progressive for sure. Imam She?ikh Salah Al-Budair, while preaching at Medina, added a rider, “This, of course, implies that at least one man in her family needs to be admitted himself…” I like this best of all. The good man realises that the majority of men don’t qualify for heaven-entry. Understandably, several Imams and religious scholars from across the country denounced him for blasphemy and reiterated that “Only men are worthy of going to heaven.”
Come on guys! That’s not enough! Let’s have a fatwa or something. How about a thousand lashes? Do I believe Allah is for real? Well, I do visit mosques sometimes. And on rare occasions I offer prayers. Not in Kerala though, for I don’t have the courage. My first visit was to the 700-year old dargah of Qamar Ali Darveesh on the Pune-Satara road, where the miraculous levitation of a huge stone at the feather touch of eleven index fingers has to be seen to be believed. The stone stands outside the dargah, so there was no need to enter.
There are no barriers of caste, creed or religion but women are not allowed inside the mosque. Reason? Well, like Lord Ayyappa, Qamar Ali, the Sufi saint, was a bachelor, having died at age 18. The miracle is real though - I’ve seen it with my own eyes. The Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur is open to all and so is the Jamia Masjid. The same Islam, but different Indian states, different practices!
In Casablanca, Morocco, I stood dumbstruck before the splendid Hasan II mosque which welcomes people of all faiths.
This awe-inspiring abode of Allah has the world’s tallest minaret (689 feet) and nocturnal lasers beaming in the direction of Mecca. It straddles the Atlantic, its glass floors enabling worshippers to kneel above the ocean, while the automated sliding roofs open up to the blue skies above. This earthquake resistant building encases Turkish hamaams, Murano glass chandeliers from Venice and a stunning variety of intricate designs. There is no discrimination, gender-based or otherwise. The same faith. But that’s another country.
I also visited a grand mosque in Alexandria, Egypt. Thanks to my Kerala conditioning, I stood outside, presuming I was not supposed to enter. The taxi driver told me in Arabic that I could go in through a separate entrance. When I hesitated, he led me to the entrance, and gesticulating wildly with his hands
advised me to wash my limbs before going inside. I already knew the rules so I
understood perfectly, though my Arabic knowledge was a virtual zero. I found plenty of European women inside. The women’s section was cordoned off but it was possible to peep through the latticed wooden partition to get a glimpse of the men. The ogling was mutual, but thoughts of the Almighty were uppermost in everyone’s minds. Or I prefer to think that way.
The Quran does contain some ideas that would be unpalatable to modern liberals, including Muslim women. Somalian-born Ayaan Hirsi Ali, writer and staunch critic of Islam, reminds us that wife-beating is recommended as a panacea for disobedience. And we thought it was all about polygamy and triple talaq and unequal inheritance rights. Entering the mosque is one thing, but there are more serious questions, too!
