Naushad Ahmed Khan, the head of a group of lawyers fighting to allow women into the famed Sabarimala temple has received at least 500 threats by phone, with many of the calls coming from abroad. Recently the Indian Young Lawyers Association filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking entry for all women. The temple has banned women between the ages of 10 and 50 from entering the temple. The apex court, in response to IYLA’s plea, asked for a reply from the temple.
CNN-IBN reported that police have provided security for Khan following the threats. Kerala Temple Affairs Minister VS Sivakumar earlier said the government would not interfere with temple regulations, and promised to “protect the faith and custom” of the temple, reported NDTV.
Officials from the Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the temple, and temple priests have not budged from their position. NDTV reported that the head priest, Thazhamon Madom Kandararu Rajeevaru, said "The chief deity in the temple is a celibate. So allowing women to worship in the shrine is a sin”.
In November 2015, women took to social media to join a campaign, #happytobleed, when a temple official reportedly said they would allow women in if there was a machine to check whether they were menstruating.
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