NEW DELHI: The latest window for worship at a flashpoint Indian shrine has closed without a single female devotee of menstruating age being admitted, despite a court order overturning a ban on their presence in the temple.
Mobs of Hindu hard-liners prevented women aged 10 to 50 from getting in to the Sabarimala temple complex when it opened last Wednesday for the first time since the Supreme Court reversed a ban on women of menstruating age from worshipping at the temple.
The shrine in southern Kerala state is only open on a handful of auspicious days every year, and a number of Hindu women between these ages had flocked there in the wake of the court order.
But the ruling had enraged traditionalists, including supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Protesters, including women and children, massed at the base of the shrine when it opened last week, threatening women trying to reach it.
Some smashed car windows and clashed with police.
Armed police escorted some devotees but none managed to make it to the hilltop temple over the five-day worship period before it closed late Monday. It will not reopen until November.
Sabarimala has become a flashpoint in a battle over gender equality, pitting religious traditionalists against progressive voices pushing for a more liberal Hinduism.
Women are permitted to enter most Hindu temples but are still barred by some.
Those of menstruating age — between 10 and 50 years — were denied entry to Sabarimala for decades, reflecting an old but still prevalent view in some parts that connects periods with impurity.
But women have been intensifying campaigns in recent years to be allowed to enter temples and other religious sites.
Two years ago, activists successfully campaigned to end a ban on women entering the Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra state.
Women were also allowed to enter Mumbai’s Hajji Ali Dargah mausoleum, a Muslim place of worship, after the Supreme Court scrapped a ban in 2016.
Flashpoint Indian temple closes without admitting women
Flashpoint Indian temple closes without admitting women
- Mobs of Hindu hard-liners prevented women aged 10 to 50 from getting in to the Sabarimala temple complex when it opened last Wednesday for the first time
- Sabarimala has become a flashpoint in a battle over gender equality, pitting religious traditionalists against progressive voices
Indian teacher who created hundreds of learning centers wins $1 million Global Teacher Prize
- Nagi is the 10th teacher to win the award, which the foundation began handing out in 2015
DUBAI: An Indian teacher and activist known for creating hundreds of learning centers and painting educational murals across the walls of slums won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize on Thursday.
Rouble Nagi accepted the award at the World Governments Summit in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, an annual event that draws leaders from across the globe.
Her Rouble Nagi Art Foundation has established more than 800 learning centers across India. They aim to have children who never attended school begin to have structured learning. They also teach children already in school.
Nagi also paints murals that teach literacy, science, math and history, among other topics.
The prize is awarded by the Varkey Foundation, whose founder, Sunny Varkey, established the for-profit GEMS Education company that runs dozens of schools in Egypt, Qatar and the UAE.
“Rouble Nagi represents the very best of what teaching can be – courage, creativity, compassion, and an unwavering belief in every child’s potential,” Varkey said in a statement posted to the Global Teacher Prize website. “By bringing education to the most marginalized communities, she has not only changed individual lives, but strengthened families and communities.”
Nagi plans to use the $1 million to build an institute that offers free vocational training.
Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, said Nagi’s prize “reminds us of a simple truth: teachers matter.”
In comments carried on the prize website, Giannini said UNESCO was “honored to join the Global Teacher Prize in celebrating teachers like you, who, through patience, determination, and belief in every learner, help children into school — an act that can change the course of a life.”
Nagi is the 10th teacher to win the award, which the foundation began handing out in 2015.
Past winners of the Global Teacher Prize have included a Kenyan teacher from a remote village who gave away most of his earnings to the poor, a Palestinian primary school teacher who teaches her students about non-violence and a Canadian educator who taught a remote Arctic village of Inuit students. Last year’s winner was Saudi educator Mansour Al-Mansour, who was known for his work with the poor in the kingdom.
GEMS Education, or Global Education Management Systems, is one of the world’s largest private school operators and is believed to be worth billions. Its success has followed that of Dubai, where only private schools offer classes for the children of the foreigners who power its economy.
