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HISTORY OF WOMEN ENTRY TO RELIGIOUS PLACES OF

WORSHIP
Equal status of women in ancient societies: It would be wrong to presume that
women were always seen as elements that disrupt the purity of any environment.
On examining cave paintings and other historical sites, historians have concluded that during
the hunting and gathering stage, women did not just engage in the same activities as men, but
were in fact valued for their contribution towards the same. These paintings also conclude
that the sexuality of women was highly valued in primitive societies since the whole survival
of the community depended on their reproductive capacity.
Emergence of controlling movement of Women: As society moved from the
nomadic lifestyle of hunting- gathering stage to the stage of agricultural settlement, labour
associated with food production came to be divided along stricter lines of gender. While men
were expected to work in the fields, womens labour was restricted within the household.
From now onwards, the reproductive capability of
women was valued, but no more their ability to contribute economically. Here on we see an
insistence on controlling the movement of women since their share of labour in food
production was restricted to the four walls of their home.
Shift from controlling movement of women to controlling sexuality of women:
It is during this transition that women appeared to have lost their superior position which
they held at the dawn of civilisation. At this period, when men went out hunting, women who
stayed behind in their caves observed natural life cycles and seasons and progressed from
food gathering to early agriculture. It was believed that women are possessed with the divine
power of reproduction and the embodiment of this power was their menstrual cycle which
coincided with lunar cycles. Therefore, women were required to be kept under the control of
men and hence the notion of patriarchy started taking shape. Ancient scriptures like
Manusmriti, supported this patriarchal notion of controlling women sexuality as it clearly
states that it is the duty of the man to guard his wife in order to ensure the purity of his
offspring

HATRED OF SEXUALITY
Feminist anthropologists and historians subscribe to the belief that patriarchy introduced the
idea of womens impurity to reinforce male supremacy. The journey towards modernization
has not been easy. Women have had to fight and are still fighting the traditional Indian male-
dominated society to emerge as stronger and
independent entities. One bold move in this direction is recently, two women in Rajasthan
have become qazis by shaking off patriarchal shackles. Although they have been criticised by
All India Muslim Personal Law Board which argues that women cannot put themselves in a
position where they can judge men.
However, after undergoing rigorous study at the Darul Uloom Niswa, qualifying to preside
over nikaah (marriage), talaaq (divorce) and deciding the meher (bride price) for a marriage,
they have successfully claimed that their scholarship equals that of any male qazi. It cant be
denied that women had always been at a higher pedestal in society since time immemorial
and it was the part of the countrys ancient tradition. Thus, tradition must reconcile with
constitutional principles and
the practice violating rights granted under the constitution ought to be modified. It is true that
men and women are biologically different, but a physiological phenomenon (menstruation)
cannot and should not be the guiding factor for denying women entry to public places of
worship. So, claiming and perpetuating these restrictions on women are not only
unconstitutional but also grave and endanger gender justice.
No tradition should live at the expense of womens happiness and health.

ROLE OF WOMENAND WOMEN ORGANISATIONS

While protest marches and writ petitions are important, Happy to Bleed campaign
initiated by a young college student and the petition made by Indian Young Lawyer
Association accompanied by five women lawyers, hits the nail on its head and challenges
patriarchy at its core. This was in reaction to a statement made by the head of the Sabarimala
Temple Board that women would be able to access the
temple only after a machine, like a body scanner, is created to determine whether a woman is
pure to go on the pilgrimage to the temple.The Sabarimala custom reflects a patriarchal,
retrogressive and medieval mind-set which is unquestionably inconsistent with the modern
philosophy of gender equality recognized under
CEDAW (Convention Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1979).
Similarly, women supported by Bhumata Ranragini brigade(a Mumbai based social activist
organization) have protested outside the Shani Shingnapurtemple in Ahmednagar,
Maharashtra claiming their rights to offer prayers at the inner sanctum of temple. They
argued that allowing the entry of women to the inner sanctorum of the temple is a vital step
to overcome a deep-rooted patriarchal mentality that
had relegated women to second-class status.In case of Trimbakeshwar Temple entry, the role
played by the Pune-based Swarajya Sanghatana, an organisation for women empowerment is
exemplary and undeniable. After their long struggle finally women got right to enter the
inner sanctorum of the Lord Shiva. Members of Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan(BMMA)
also took the initiative to file the petition for asserting the freedom of women in the inner
sanctorum of Haji Ali Dargah against the dogmatic actions of religious men. It was supported
by Akshara Foundation (a Bangalore based organisation which works for the empowerment
of the women) arguing that all the discriminatory aspects within the religion need to be done
away with. As women aided by women organizations are increasingly becoming conscious
of the dichotomy between progressive values guaranteed to them by the Constitution and
regressive traditions which continue in the garb of religion,
such protests will soon become a norm. People are becoming aware of the largely
patriarchal way in which religious institutions and its administrative machinery functions in
the country. On one hand one can argue about the utility of the endeavour to enter a temple
which bars women on the other hand, one must realise that entering the temple is actually
symbolic of the larger discrimination against them; the fight for the principle of inequality
and not just the act. This depicts that women have the courage to take on these
establishments and challenge age-old traditions suggesting there could the small sliver of
light to brighten the whole community one day, given that the battle is continued on several
fronts.

suggestion
ENCOURAGING THE IDEA OF GENDER JUSTICE:
All the instances of barring women to public religious sites depicts that, the justification
offered for denying women entry in places of worship rests on a supposed inferiority of
women in matters of religion. The apex court also maintained that women could not be
barred from entering the temple when God himself did not discriminate between men and
women. It was supplemented with the cosmopolitan idea of equal treatment of the
denominations of the same faith i.e. people of the same faith cant be discriminated on the
basis of sex.

OVERRIDING THE IDEA OF PURITY AND POLLUTION IN RELIGIOUS

MATTERS:
The Supreme Court has questioned the issue by arguing that menstruation cannot be
associated with the purity of an individual as a biological phenomenon cant be a reason
for barring women from visiting the public places of worship. Scientifically it is a biological
phase of female reproductive system. Therefore, there is no reason for this notion to persist
that menstruating women are impure.

PROTECTION OF WOMENS RIGHTS

RATHER THAN PREJUDICE
: Whether such arguments are linked to menstruation, the weakness of physical frame or
some other physical attributes of women, the fact remains that the arguments offered for
restricting womens entry to religious places is a brute exercise of patriarchal power.
Supreme Court argued that barring women to enter sacred places violates the constitutional
guarantees of equality. So, patriarchy vis--vis religious customs should not impede womens
right.

ROLE OF THE STATE:

It is the duty of the State to ensure the safety and security of the women at Public places of
worship. It is obliged to ensure that the fundamental rights are protected and that the right of
access to the public religious and worship places is not denied to women. The voice of the
state should be simply and squarely modern, supporting personal freedoms and equality,
instead of being swayed by one religious vote bank or the other. After all, it is in a modern
India with a modern Constitution that all these different tradition must co-exist.

The Vedas refer to menstrual blood euphemistically as kusum (flower), pushpa

(blossom) and jivarakta (the giver of life). The woman was the embodiment of strength,
Shakti and could kill evil demons in the form of Durga and Kali. There is also mention of
women like Gargi who challenged sage Yajnavalkya on religious philosophy. Our folklore,
mythology and scriptures are filled with images of strong and powerful women.

In ancient Greek religion, there were women priestesses who presided over festivals and
religious rituals. Women priestesses served as oracles, the most famous of them was the Oracle
of Delphi. The fame of the priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi had spread throughout the
Greco-Roman world.

Feminist anthropologists and historians subscribe to the belief that patriarchy introduced the idea
of womens impurity to reinforce male supremacy. Gradually, as patriarchy took root, women
were chastised for their power of healing and prophesying, and during the medieval ages, many
healers and midwives were burnt as witches. So scared was the medieval church of Europe of
womens blood that it was believed that even if a drop of blood was spilt on the ground, the
witch would be reborn.

Hatred towards women and fear of their sexuality is deeply ingrained in Christianity and discrimination
against women is palpable within religious worship and practice. Though there is evidence within early
church traditions that women occupied important positions as preachers, they were later barred from
holding such positions. The fear of women and their sexuality still reigns, but women have challenged
this notion and have succeeded in getting themselves ordained as priests and bishops within some
progressive churches.

manusmriti
3.56. The society that provides respect and dignity to women flourishes with nobility and prosperity.
And a society that does not put women on such a high pedestal has to face miseries and failures
regardless of howsomuch noble deeds they perform otherwise.

3.58. A family- where women feel insulted or discriminated against and curse their menfolk- is destroyed
in same manner as poison kills all those who eat it.

9.26. Women give birth to next generation. They enlighten the home. They bring fortune and bliss. Hence
women are synonymous to Prosperity.

Anas reported: "The Prophet(saws) saw a woman crying by the grave of her son, and said to her, 'Fear Allah, and be
patient.' She replied, 'What do you care about my tragedy?' When he went away, someone told her, 'Indeed, that was
the Messenger of Allah (saws).' The woman felt extremely sorry and she immediately went to the Prophet's house,
where she did not find any guards. She called out: 'O Messenger of Allah! I did not recognize you.' The Prophet
(saws) said, 'Verily patience is needed at the time of the first affiction'.'' (Bukhari and Muslim) This supports the
argument in favor of the permissibility of women visiting graves, for the Prophet, peace be upon him, saw her at the
grave and did not show his disapproval of it.

It is not permissible for one to specifically travel to dargahs or any graveyard. If one is in the area or city, then there
is no harm if one visits the graveyard. This ruling is based on the narration of the Prophet (saws) who said: "One
should not undertake journeys except to three mosques: the Masjid al-Haram (Makkah), the Aqsa mosque
(Jerusalem), or this mosque (the Prophets mosque in Medina)."

How does controlling movement of women get associated with controlling sexuality of
women?

By the sixth century in India, towns started emerging. The emergence of towns was accompanied
by the rise in groups engaged in specialised economic activities. Caste stratification of society
took roots during this period along with the establishment of private ownership of land.

Historian Uma Chakravarti has concluded that stratification of society along lines of caste made
it necessary for the sexuality of women to be controlled. Marriage and reproduction were the
foremost factors that ensured the rigidity of stratification along caste lines. Therefore women
were required to be kept under the control of men.

From this period on, we see the evidence of a large body of religious texts that mention the need
to control womens sexuality. For example, the Apastmba Dharma Sutra which is a Sanskrit text
from 6th century BC states that a husband should ensure that no other man goes near his wife
lest his seed get into her.
A common way of controlling the sexuality of women was by referring to the innate wicked
nature of women which if left uncontrolled could lead to chaos in society. A large number of
texts of the period starting from the middle of the first millennium BC carry explicit references to
the evil character of women.

For instance, the Satapatha Brahmana, a Vedic text from the 6th century BC states that a woman,
a Sudra, a dog and a crow are the embodiments of untruth, sin and darkness. The Manusmriti, on
the other hand, clearly states that it is the duty of the man to guard his wife in order to ensure the
purity of his offspring.

Knowing their disposition, which the lord of creatures laid on them at creation (i.e., their
reproductive power, their sexuality, their essential nature) every man should most strenuously
exert himself to guard them (Manusmriti)

Social perceptions and status of women are essentially rooted in the economic and cultural
structures of the time. The ideas of purity and pollution which form the backbone to the rule
of denying entry to women in religious spaces can be placed within the economic necessity to
keep women inside their homes and the social requirement of keeping caste compartments rigid.
These were essential for societys sustenance at a bygone era, not anymore.
convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination
against women 1979
The Convention defines discrimination against women as "...any distinction, exclusion or restriction made
on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment
or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of
human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other
field."1

The Convention provides the basis for realizing equality between women and men through ensuring
women's equal access to, and equal opportunities in, political and public life -- including the right to vote
and to stand for election -- as well as education, health and employment. States parties agree to take all
appropriate measures, including legislation and temporary special measures, so that women can enjoy all
their human rights and fundamental freedoms.

In 1994, the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo (ICPD)

articulated and affirmed the relationship between advancement and fulfilment of rights and
gender equality and equity. It also clarified the concepts of womens empowerment, gender
equity, and reproductive health and rights. The Programme of Action of ICPD asserted that the
empowerment and autonomy of women and the improvement of their political, social, economic
and health status was a highly important end in itself as well as essential for the achievement of
sustainable development. In 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing generated
global commitments to advance a wider range of womens rights. The inclusion of gender
equality and womens empowerment as one of the eight Millennium Development Goals was a
reminder that many of those promises have yet to be kept. It also represents a critical opportunity
to implement those promises. - See more at: http://www.unfpa.org/resources/human-rights-
women#sthash.kx9VBj7S.dpuf

1 convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women 1979

 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General

Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966

Article 3

The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women
to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights set forth in the present Covenant.

Article 26

All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal
protection of the law. In this respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to
all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth
or other status