Sabarimala and Women’s Identity in Kerala

Kerala is a state that has won acclaim for its early achievements in the area of women’s rights and well-being. These early successes paid it valuable social dividends in terms of its high educational and health attainments, and a progressive political consciousness. Many observers have found it difficult to reconcile this impression of Kerala with the protests that shook the state over the Sabarimala shrine issue over most of 2018 and 2019. At the heart of the controversy was the issue of the customary ban on women in the 10–50 age group entering the shrine, which the Supreme Court in an important ruling of September 2018, had declared illegal. While a segment of Kerala supported the ruling, a segment took the view that tradition is inviolable and that the ban should stay.