This refers to your front page report “Nest Destination Haji Ali Dargah” (April 21). Bhumata Ranragini Brigade chief Trupti Desai, who has been spearheading the campaign for gender equality in temples is the fundamental right for women. It clearly shows she was not restricted to Shani Shinganapur and Trimbakeshwar temples but to every place of worship where women’s entry was banned. Women not being allowed inside places of worship violates the right to equality. She rightly claims that “Women of every religion should be allowed to enter religious places of their respective faiths. People, who consider women as impure, should realize that they have come into existence only because of them. Even the milk that is poured on the shrines inside temples comes from cows and buffalos, which are also female.” It stated that many religions impose restrictions on women due to menstruation, which is perceived as ‘unclean or embarrassing’. Being clean or unclean is my business. Women’s in Hindu religion are not restricted to offer prayers but its our culture that tell us what is the procedure to worship each different god in a different manner. Women have to believe that menstruation has nothing to do with purity. Education is one way to create awareness.
Vinod C. Dixit
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
