An Indian woman who made an unsuccessful try final month to enter considered one of Hinduism’s holiest temples has been arrested and prices in opposition to her embody “exposing her thigh” in a {photograph} she posted on Facebook whereas dressed as a pilgrim.
32-year previous Rehana Fathima who’s a telecom technician, activist and mannequin, was stopped by protesters from getting into the Sabarimala shrine which has traditionally been closed to all girls of “menstruating age”.
Hinduism regards menstruating girls as unclean and bars them from taking part in spiritual rituals. The shrine administration says the ban on girls can be as a result of the temple deity Lord Ayyappa was a bachelor.
In September, India’s Supreme Court overturned the ban, permitting girls of all ages to go to the temple.
Rehana was accompanied by 100 law enforcement officials as she tried to make her well past Hindu devotees who defied the court docket’s ruling and meant to maintain girls out. She was finally pressured to desert her try to enter the constructing’s sanctum.
Miss Fathima was then arrested over a selfie she later shared in which she confirmed a few of her thigh whereas dressed in pilgrim’s garments, prompting complaints that the image was ‘sexually specific’ and wounded spiritual emotions.
The 32-year-old has been quickly imprisoned whereas authorities examine, BBC News reported.
In the image Ms Fathima, a Muslim, is reportedly mimicking the temple’s presiding deity Lord Ayyappa in the best way she poses.
Temple managers argue that the celibate nature of Lord Ayyappa is protected by India’s structure.
Some spiritual figures take into account menstruating girls to be impure and police took up the matter after complaints that the image ‘wounded the spiritual emotions of Lord Ayyappa’s devotees’.
Ms Fathima tried to achieve the temple with a feminine journalist, with each carrying protecting gear and being escorted by police, however they had been turned away by protesters.
She works as a technician for the state-run telecom firm however has reportedly been suspended.
The entry of females between the ages of 10 and 50 to the centuries-old temple was banned informally for a few years, after which by legislation in 1972.
But India’s Supreme Court lifted the ban in September, holding that equality is supreme no matter age and gender.
Despite the court docket ruling girls had been blocked from getting into as tons of of protesters fought avenue battles with police to maintain them out.
About 1,000 police used batons to attempt to management the protesters, who attacked and broken police and TV autos and compelled feminine devotees to show again.
Sabarimala is surrounded by mountains and dense forests in the Periyar Tiger Reserve and as much as 50 million devotees go to the temple annually.
Several different temples throughout India have additionally banned girls, saying the coverage is meant to protect the purity of their shrines.