Trupti Desai happy women entered Sabari shrine

Pune: Activist Trupti Desai Wednesday expressed joy over reports of the entry of two women belonging to the menstruating age group into the Lord Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala in Kerala. She also vowed to visit the temple once it reopened.

The Bhumata Brigade founder said that she w-as happy to hear that two women in their forties h-ad managed to reach the sannidhanam or temple complex and offer pra-yers to Lord Ayyappa, and congratulated their effort. “This is a big victory for our agitation. Today is a historic day f-or us. It is a victory for e-quality. This is a good b-eginning for women in the new year. Those aga-inst women's entry had openly thrown a challenge that no women in the 10-50 years’ age grou-p will be able to reach th-e sannidhanam. Their a-gitation has now failed,” she said.

Ms Desai’s earlier effo-rt to offer prayers at Sab-arimala failed after she was forced to return fr-om the Kochi airport a-long with six young women, following  chanting of hymns and protests by devotees and right-wing outfits for 13 hours on November 16.

Ms Desai, who spearheaded the drive for wo-men to be allowed into religious sites, including Shani Shingnapur tem-ple, Haji Ali Dargah, Ma-halakshmi Temple and Trimbakeshwar Shi-va Temple, had sought protection to reach Sabari-mala from the Kerala chief minister.