Women’s group to force way into temple

The Ranragini Bhumata Brigade (RBB) will stage a 1,000-member strong women’s mandir entry demonstration at Shani Shingnapur on January 26, Republic Day to demand for women to be given equal rights for darshan at the ‘sacred platform’ in the temple. This was confirmed by RBB chief Trupti Desai to the The Asian Age on Wednesday.

“We have already received four notices from the police and could be stopped from entering the mandir. However, I am booking a helicopter and seeking permission for the flight from the collector tomorrow. I will alight by a rope from the helicopter and take darshan,” the feisty women’s activist said. Speaking from Kolhapur, by phone, she said that earlier, the Brigade was going to stage demonstrations with 300 women. “We held corner meetings in nearly half of the state, including North Maharashtra and are now covering Western Maharashtra. Women want equality, which was given in the Constitution of India on January 26. Hence we want to protest on this day,” Ms Desai said.

“One woman mistakenly went to the chauthara (platform) and took darshan. After this, the management washed the area as it had become ‘impure’ and insulted motherhood. In December, four of us (women) tried to storm through the barricades, but were pushed back. That’s when we realised, numbers were important,” said Ms Desai, who has about 30 cases filed against her.

She said that it was only in Shani Shingnapur that women are disallowed from entering the sactum sanctorum. “I am a Lord Shani devotee, and regularly fast on Saturdays and take darshan in various Shani Mandirs in Pune. There we (women) are allowed to go till the Gabhara (sanctum sanctorum) and take darshan. There is no discrimination against women,” she said.

Ms Desai said hundreds of women were lining up to join the struggle for women’s equality in all districts they had toured such as Nashik, Aurangabad, Jalna, Jalgaon, Dhule, Ahmednagar and Kolhapur among others.