Woman who made history by entering Sabarimala attacked by relatives, hospitalised

Kanaka Durga, one of the two women who made history by becoming the first in centuries to enter the Sabarimala hill temple in Kerala, was attacked by relatives on her return home on Monday.

Kanaka Durga, one of the two women who made history by becoming the first in centuries to enter the Sabarimala hill temple in Kerala, was attacked by relatives on her return home on Monday.

In the file photo, Kanaka Durga, 44, are escorted by police after she attempted to enter the Sabarimala temple in Pathanamthitta district in the southern state of Kerala, India, December 24, 2018. Picture taken December 24, 2018.(REUTERS)

She is admitted in a hospital at Perinthalmanna in Malappuram district.

Earlier her husband had filed a missing person report and his family had disowned her following her Januray 2 entry into the hill shrine dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, considered to be a celibate deity.

Following threats by hardline groups Bindu Ammini, 40, a law lecturer at Kerala’s Kannur University and Kanaka Durga, 39, a civil servant, had gone into hiding after entering the hill shrine. Their entry sparked widespread protests and a day-long strike in Kerala.

 Watch: Row after two women entered Sabarimala Temple

 

 

The women - speaking in an undisclosed location on the outskirts of Kochi – had said they were facing threats from protesters, but that they trusted the authorities to keep them safe and planned to return home soon.

“I always say that I trust the police persons, the state government of Kerala and also our democratic society of Kerala,” Bindu had said.

The temple has been the site of tension since the Supreme Court ruled in late September to end a ban on women of menstruating age entering it.

There have since been outbreaks of violence between the authorities and protesters attempting to prevent women from entering.