Women entering temple sparks deadly violence in India

For centuries, women of child bearing age were kept out of temples of Hindu deity Ayyappa, the celibate god of growth. The religious taboo was inscribed in law in 1972. After a bitter dispute, the ban was overturned in late 2018. Traditionalists then pledged to keep enforcing the ban. But these two women in their 40s still managed to sneak past them and enter the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.

As the news of the intrusion broke, many women gathered to celebrate on the streets across the Indian state, which is ruled by a far-left government. Hindu traditionalist also took to the streets in protest. The police in the city of Kochi protected the celebration as the conservative protesters, many of them supporters of the BJP party, tried to disrupt the festivities.

The Sabarimala temple was briefly closed while priests conducted 'purification' rituals to neutralize the unwanted visit by the two women of menstruating age. Worshippers flocked in soon afterwards.

Hindu devotees clashed with police in various cities in Kerala, with the nationalist BJP party decrying the women's entry. The BJP, which holds power on the federal level, accused the far-left government of the state of Kerala of a "conspiracy" to "destroy the Hindu temples." One BJP supporter died after reportedly being hit by a stone from a local Communist party office.

Just before the latest escalation of violence, women in Kerala formed a 620 kilometer (385 mile) human chain and recited a pledge to aid gender equality in India.