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(NEW DELHI) - A temple in southern India, one of the largest Hindu pilgrimage centers in the world, will open its doors to women of childbearing age following a decision by the country's supreme court .
Some 1,000 policemen cleared protesters from around Sabarimala temple in Kerala state on Wednesday, hours before the temple doors were opened for women aged 10 to 50, police officer Manoj Abraham said.
Police arrested 11 protesters while they were trying to block the passage of some women. On Tuesday, hundreds of protesters stopped buses carrying worshipers to two of the temple's base camps and asked the women to submit documents proving their age.
Since the decision of a state court in 1991, this secular temple forbids women and girls from 10 to 50 years old to enter. The Supreme Court of India lifted the ban last month, saying that equality was the rule, regardless of age and sex.
Temple management and protesters say that the unmarried nature of the temple deity, Lord Ayyappa, is protected by the Indian constitution. Some religious figures consider that women who have their period are impure.
Meghna Pant, an activist, said that the celibacy of the deity was not more important than the equality of women. "Who are the men to decide where women can go or not?" She said.
Proponents of the ban were irritated by the state government's decision not to seek a review of the Supreme Court's decision.
Rahul Easwar, a temple attorney, urged dedicated women not to enter the temple and to leave the temple authorities order until next week to file a petition for review in the Supreme Court .
Sabarimala is surrounded by mountains and dense forests, at the location of the Periyar Tiger Reserve. Nearly 50 million worshipers visit the temple each year.
Several temples in India have banned women, saying the policy was aimed at preserving the purity of their sanctuaries. Operators of a state temple in northwestern Rajasthan believe that the Hindu god Kartikeya insults women who enter the temple instead of blessing them.
Indian secular courts have recently intervened in cases in which the beliefs of a religion were considered discriminatory.
