Ambedkar was also a champion for the feminist cause. "I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved," he had said.
The controversial case of Sabarimala temple — that bans women of menstruating age from entering the temple — is showing no signs of conclusion.
The Supreme Court has ordered that women must not be discriminated against, enforcing the order on the ground has been a challenge. It is the state government’s duty to enforce law but the executive has put the fear of a political backlash ahead of the letter of the law.
With Mandala season welcoming devotees, the temple registered merely 36 women entries as compared to 740 last year. Added to that there was a case of 12 year old refused entry as their age was being checked before entry.
It has long been a debate if women can be allowed into religious places including Shani Shingnapur temple, the Haji Ali Dargah. Haji Ali Dargah Trust had said that it would be a ‘grave sin’ if women entered the dargah. Women, in fact, received death threats if they tried entering the dargah. However, in August 2016, the Bombay High Court lifted the man to allow women entry to dargah, if she wants to.