{"id":10848,"date":"2017-10-20T17:44:08","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T12:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=10848"},"modified":"2017-10-20T17:44:08","modified_gmt":"2017-10-20T12:14:08","slug":"sabarimala-temple-case-gender-equality-v-religious-belief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/sabarimala-temple-case-gender-equality-v-religious-belief\/","title":{"rendered":"Sabarimala Temple case: Gender Equality V Religious belief"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Prohibition of women\u2019s entry to shrines solely on the basis of womanhood is derogatory to women and their fundamental rights.<\/li>\n<li>Authorities must uphold a stern approach towards gender equality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>What is the significance of Sabrimala temple?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sabarimala is the second largest seasonal pilgrimage after the Islamic holy site of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.<\/li>\n<li>An estimated 3.5 crore Hindu pilgrims visited the shrine last year<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Why is entry at Sabrimala banned for women?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Sabarimala temple restricts entry only for menstruating women.<\/li>\n<li>There are restrictions on the entry of women in the age group of 10 to 50 years in the shrine because women of menstruating age can\u2019t be allowed on account of \u201cpurity\u201d.<\/li>\n<li>The ban on \u2018menstruating women\u2019 was enforced under Rule 3(b) of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorization of Entry) Rules 1965.<\/li>\n<li>The board states that \u201cWomen who are not by custom and usage allowed to enter a place of public worship shall not be entitled to enter or offer worship in any place of public worship\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>What has happened so far?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In 1991, the Kerala high court upheld the ban in the S.Mahendran vs the Secretary, Travancore case and directed the Devasom Board to implement it.<\/li>\n<li>The India Young Lawyers Association revived the issue in Supreme Court through a PIL contending that Rule 3(b) violates constitutional guarantees of equality, non-discrimination and religious freedom (Articles 14, 15 and 25).<\/li>\n<li>The Supreme Court recently indicated that it will refer the Sabarimala temple entry restriction on women of a certain age to a Constitution Bench.<\/li>\n<li>The Supreme Court on Friday\u00a0referred to its constitution bench\u00a0on October 20th 2017, the matter pertaining to the ban on entry of women at Sabarimala.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>How is the ban contradicting the essence of the constitution of India?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Preventing women\u2019s entry to the Sabarimala temple with an irrational and obsolete notion of \u201cpurity\u201d offends the equality clauses in the Constitution.<\/li>\n<li>It denotes a patriarchal and partisan approach.<\/li>\n<li>The entry prohibition takes away the woman\u2019s right against discrimination guaranteed under Article 15(1) of the Constitution.<\/li>\n<li>It further curtails the religious freedom assured by Article 25(1).<\/li>\n<li>Prohibition of women\u2019s entry to the shrine is done on the basis of womanhood and the biological features associated with womanhood, which Article 51A (e) aims to renounce.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>What are the various Articles guaranteeing religious and gender equality?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Article 15 of the Indian Constitution<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Article 15 of Indian Constitution prohibits any discrimination done on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.<\/li>\n<li>It is important to note that Article 15 of the Indian constitution states that no person shall be discriminated on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.<\/li>\n<li>Every person shall have equal access to public places like public parks, museums, wells, bathing ghats and temples etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Special provision for women and children. <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Special provisions may be made for the advancements of any socially or educationally backward class or\u00a0scheduled castes\u00a0or\u00a0scheduled tribes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Article 25 of the Indian Constitution<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Articles 25 to 28 states make India a secular state.<\/li>\n<li>42nd\u00a0Amendment inserting the word \u201csecular\u201d make the assertion firmer.<\/li>\n<li>The Article 25 states that every individual is \u201cequally entitled to freedom of conscience\u201d and has the right \u201cto profess, practice and propagate religion\u201d of one\u2019s choice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Violation of Article 25<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>This constitutional provision does not give individuals the right to conduct animal sacrifice and perform religious rituals on a busy street or public place that causes inconvenience to others.<\/li>\n<li>Though the right to perform rituals is protected under this Article, yet the state retains the power to formulate laws to regulate \u201ceconomic, financial, political.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>What is India\u2019s stand on women rights?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The rights available to woman (ladies) in India can be classified into two categories, namely as constitutional rights and legal rights.<\/li>\n<li>The constitutional rights are those which are provided in the various provisions of the constitution.<\/li>\n<li>The legal rights, on the other hand, are those which are provided in the various laws (acts) of the Parliament and the State Legislatures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Constitutional Rights to\u00a0Women:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The rights and safeguards enshrined in the constitution for women in India are listed below:<\/li>\n<li>The state shall not discriminate against any citizen of India on the ground of sex [Article 15(1)].<\/li>\n<li>It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of\u00a0women [Article 51-A(e)].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Article 26 in The Constitution of India 1949<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Freedom to manage religious affairs subject to public order, morality and health, every religious denomination or any section thereof shall have the right<\/li>\n<li>to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes;<\/li>\n<li>to manage its own affairs in matters of religion;<\/li>\n<li>to own and acquire movable and immovable property; and<\/li>\n<li>to administer such property in accordance with law<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>What is the suggested way ahead?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Article 25(2)(b) enables the state \u201c(to provide) for social welfare and reform or the throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and sections of the Hindus.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>While delivering its judgment, the Supreme Court should keep in mind that none among the devotees of Sabarimala have come to court demanding changed rules.<\/li>\n<li>It is essential to prevent monopolization of religious rights by a few under the guise of management of religious institutions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Context Prohibition of women\u2019s entry to shrines solely on the basis of womanhood is derogatory to women and their fundamental rights. Authorities must uphold a stern approach towards gender equality What is the significance of Sabrimala temple? Sabarimala is the second largest seasonal pilgrimage after the Islamic holy site of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. An&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/sabarimala-temple-case-gender-equality-v-religious-belief\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Sabarimala Temple case: Gender Equality V Religious belief<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":10849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-editorials","category-public","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/15ptkrk05-sabar16tvpt-ayyappatempl.jpg?fit=1002%2C512&ssl=1","views":{"total":85,"cached_at":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}