What better way to ring in the new year than by standing up for gender equality? On January 1, 2019, 5 million women in India formed a wall across Kerala in honor of "protecting women's constitutional rights to equality." Women from many different religions linked arms and joined in this wall, blocking major highways and roads in India.
The state government enabled the protest by giving many workers and schoolchildren the day off, and the movement has expanded into a demonstration for gender equality. There was a point to be made and these ladies were here to make a statement.
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The Sabarimala Temple in Kerala, India has had a century-long ban on women entering the temple if they are the ages of menstruating (ages 10-50 years old). Women during menstruation are considered "unclean" and not worthy to enter. In 2018, the Supreme Court in Delhi lifted the ban and allowed women to enter the temple. After this ban was lifted protests broke out, some even blocking the doors preventing the women from entering. Some protesters were arrested for throwing stones and physically blocking women from entering the temple.
These protests are what inspired the wall.
It was reported that the day after the wall was formed, two women were able to enter the temple without any problems. However, there were others who were still unhappy with the women entering the temple. India's ruling party, the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, called for a counter-protest and claimed that the lifting of the ban goes against religious values.
This wall is such a big moment for women who practice Hinduism. Their religion is just as important to them as it is to men, so why are women pushed aside? This ban of menstruating women is centuries old. Keyword: CENTURIES. Times have changed, and I believe some of those changes are for the better. Women should be able to enter the temple without a problem, especially without the stress and worry of being physically blocked from the door or being attacked with stones. It's 2019 and women are STILL fighting to be given the same opportunities as men.
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I don't want to only focus on the negatives of this event, because there is also so much power and joy in this event. Let's just take a minute to acknowledge the amount of female power and strength overflowing in this wall. Over five million women came together to fight for something that was important to them. FIVE MILLION PEOPLE. That's five million women coming together and putting aside differences to unite for one common battle among all women. Gender equality. These women came from different religious backgrounds as well. This movement is overwhelming and makes my heart so full of pride and joy.
It's powerful women and stories like this that give me hope for 2019.
