E-Paper
Woman who defied Sabarimala ban allowed to enter house, to be given security
A village court directed her husband and other relatives not to block her entry and ordered them not to dispose their house till further orders.
A village court (grama nyayalay) in Malappuram district of Kerala on Tuesday allowed Kanakadurga, one of the two women who entered Sabarimala temple first defying an age-old ban, to enter her house and has been provided round-the-clock security by six policemen.
It directed her husband and other relatives not to block her entry and ordered them not to dispose their house till further orders.
Kanakadurga had moved the judicial first class magistrate court in Perinthalmanna two weeks back after her husband and relatives refused permission to enter her house. Later the court transferred her plea to a village court.
“ I am really happy the court ordered my return. I will convince my relatives I didn’t do any sin” she said.
Her husband Krishnanunni was not available for comments.
Though police and district officials had tried to convince her relatives, they refused to budge, saying she will be taken back only after tendering a public apology to devotees and Hindu community.
They said she brought enough shame to the community and hurt sentiments of lakhs of devotees and they won’t accept her without “atoning for her sin.”
Her husband later locked the house and shifted to a relative’s house. With nowhere to go, Kanakdurga was shifted to a government-run home.
Last month, she suffered minor injuries after she was allegedly attacked by her mother-in-law with a wooden plank. The mother-in-law was also admitted in a hospital at Perinthalmanna in Malappuram district after she complained she was manhandled by her daughter-in-law.
Hailing from an orthodox Nair family, Kanakadurga (42), a mother of two, drew the ire of her family members after she kept them in the dark about her plan to trek to the temple.
Following threats by right-wing groups, she and Bindu Ammini went into hiding after entering the hill shrine on Jan 2. Their entry sparked widespread protests and a day-long strike in Kerala which turned violent at many places. Police had arrested more than 7,000 people, mostly members of the RSS or the BJP.
The Supreme Court had directed the state government to provide round-the-clock protection to both.
The temple had witnessed violent incidents since the September 28 verdict of the SC which threw open temple doors for women of all ages. The tension in the temple and its base camps affected both footfall and revenue.
