Dubai: Every temple has its own belief system and Dubai resident Smita Nair felt it was important to understand the story behind the restriction on women of a certain age entering the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.
“Each temple has a certain deity and a certain belief system attached to it and with the Sabarimala temple, it was a tradition that women were not allowed to go inside and it is not only because Ayyappa Swami is a brahmachari [celibate]. Even Hanuman is a brahmachari, but we can visit the Hanuman Temple. However, Ayappa made a promise to Bahgwati, as Bhagwati wanted to get married to him, that he won’t set his eyes on any woman of a reproductive age. I believe that it is a promise that he has made and I don’t see why we should create a ruckus about it,” Nair said.
She also added that the issue was not about gender equality as there were several temples in India that allowed women.
“In fact, there are some temples where men are not allowed, why does gender equality not come up in that?”
