Mumbai:
Women politicians in Maharashtra are speaking out against gender discrimination at places of worship after an unidentified woman offered prayers at Ahmednagar's famous Shani Shingarpur temple before the idol.
Women have traditionally been barred from entering the sanctorum of the temple. But her action has been applauded by politicians across party lines, who said by breaking tradition, she has taken a step towards gender equality.
"I would personally like to congratulate this woman and felicitate her," Congress MLA Praniti Shinde told NDTV. "I feel whether it is a place of worship, or any other place, there shouldn't be a ban for anybody."
"Women were barred from educating themselves, and it was only 150-200 years since women started educating themselves. Old practices have to die. There will be an opposition, a revolt, and I feel, in the eyes of any god, everybody is equal," Ms Shinde added.
Baramati MP and daughter of NCP Chief Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule tweeted:
BJP spokesperson Shaina NC told NDTV, "It is extremely unfortunate that on one hand, you treat a woman as Durga, Saraswati, Laxmi, and on the other, when she performs some puja at a temple, you say she is impure..."
After the incident, temple authorities, along with villagers, have performed purification rituals.
Condemning the breach of tradition, Shivaji Darandare, President of the Board of Trustees that runs the temple, told NDTV, "We are working towards ensuring that something like this does not happen again."
He said there were separate arrangements for women to offer prayers at the temple. "We make efforts to maintain similar status for men and women," he added.
The incident comes on the heels of the controversy over the barring of women at Kerala's Sabarimala temple and the protest by a group which has started the Happy to Bleed campaign.
Mumbai's famous Haji Ali Dargah has also stopped women from entering the sanctum sanctorum. But the move has been challenged in the Bombay High Court by the Muslim Mahila Andolan, a women's rights advocacy group. The dargah authorities have told the court it is a grievous sin for women to be in close proximity to the grave of a male Muslim saint.