India's top court lifts Hindu temple ban on women of menstruating age

The authorities at the Sabarimala temple, which attracts tens of millions of pilgrims every year, have said the ban on women and girls aged from 10 to 50 was essential to the rites related to the temple's chief deity Ayyappan, considered eternally celibate. In some Hindu communities, menstruating women are regarded as unclean, leading to restrictions and in a few cases outright bans on women of child-bearing age from entering certain places. Lifting the ban, the Chief Justice of India said "restrictions put by Sabarimala temple can't be held as essential religious practice".

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2y0hLpP