Some women have come forward and started a campaign saying they are not against the traditions and restrictions of the Sabarimala temple, and they are ready to wait till the age when they are allowed to enter the temple.
In a landmark judgement, the Bombay High Court directed the Haji Ali dargah trust to allow entry of women inside the sanctum sanctorum, which was banned by the trust in 2012. The court held that the ban, imposed by the trust claiming that it was sinful in Islam, was in violative of Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution.
It was sure a win for activists who have been fighting for equal right to pray for women. Activists like Trupti Desai, who fought for women's entry in Shani Shingnapur's sanctum sanctorum, now want Sabarimala to do away with its restrictions.
However, now some women in Kerala are running a campaign to preserve 'ancient customs', which they have named #ReadyToWait.
#ReadyToWait campaign says that since there is a restriction only for women who are of menstruating age to enter Sabarimala, they are 'ready to wait'. Sabarimala temple bans the entry of women between the age of 10 and 55.
A Facebook user, Anjali George wrote the following on her Facebook page:
"Sabarimala is not a gender issue. There is NO ban on entry of women in Sabarimala as the media is reporting. There is only a restriction on women of a particular age group. That has to do with the customs of the place. You cannot apply the Semitic scale which reduces God to a human figure to pagan traditions that worship nature and its forces. Each temple has a unique custom, and that cannot be standardised just because the so called liberals who proclaim to be atheists don't understand it. Just like there is space for both theism and atheism in Sanatana-dharma, there is also space for male or female worship or their exclusion from worship.
So dear Western-funded Feminists and Godless Commies, leave the customs of the native civilisation to the devotees of the Temple.
Let the voice of devotees be heard instead of insensitive atheists from alien cultures.
#ReadyToWait"
Several women soon joined the movement, and posted their pictures holding a placard that read '#ReadyToWait'. Some supporters of this movement also condemned the atheists who are trying to fight their fight. Some even said that since they are devotees of Lord Ayappa, they are ready to wait until they reach the age to enter Sabarimala, as per the tradition.
While one might understand the sentiments of the #ReadyToWait brigade, denying entry to women based on a natural biological process which is instrumental in the propagation of the human race shows the inherent misogyny that has become innate thanks to a patriarchal culture. Women supporting the #ReadyToWait campaign sadly display a tinge of what psychologists call Stockholm syndrome, as they tend to defend the very patriarchal notions that have held them hostage
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