AHMEDNAGAR, INDIA, April 8, 2016 (Tribune India): In a big victory to the campaign for gender equality, the famed Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra on Friday lifted the centuries-old ban on entry of women at the sanctum sanctorum, yielding to a high voltage crusade by activists and court directions. Soon after the temple trust announced the decision to facilitate unrestricted entry to all devotees to the core area of the shrine in Western Maharashtra, some women devotees entered the sacred spot and offered worship.
Hours after the decision was announced, Bhumata Brigade leader Trupti Desai, who had led a sustained campaign over the issue, reached the Lord Saturn temple in Ahmednagar district and offered prayers. Significantly, removal of the gender barrier came on the auspicious occasion of Gudi Padwa, marking New Year by people across Maharashtra.
Welcoming the decision, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “discrimination on the basis of caste and gender should be eliminated from the minds of the people keeping with the modern times.” Sayaram Bankar, a trustee of the temple, said a meeting of the trustees decided to facilitate unrestricted entry to all devotees, including men and women, in keeping with the Bombay High Court directive.