Thiruvananthapuram: At least 40 women from Tamil Nadu plan to trek Sabarimala on December 23 to pray at the Lord Ayyappa Temple that has been opened to women of all age groups by the Supreme Court recently. The Kerala government has promised to provide protection to the women, their representative, Adv Suseela, told Manorama Online.

The pilgrims are members of a Chennai-based women's group, Manithi, which works for the uplift of women and children. Women aged between 10 and 50 had been kept away from the shrine with a few exceptions over a few years. Several women who went up the hill after the court verdict were stopped by mobs.

“We are not like (activists) Rehana Fatima or Trupti Desai. We want to pray before Lord Ayyappa at least once in our lifetime. We have taken a vow of abstinence and we have the support of our families,” Suseela said.

Manithi, which means woman in Tamil, has about 500 members. The members of the group had been wanting to go to Sabarimala as soon as the Supreme Court ruled the ban on women as unconstitutional, Suseela said. However, the violence related to the protests at the shrine held them back.

The women’s group sent a mail to the Kerala chief minister two weeks ago seeking the government’s support to go up the hill. The chief minister’s office has replied that the necessary arrangements would be taken to ensure their protection, said Suseela, whose parents hail from Thrissur.

The Sabarimala temple and nearby areas had witnessed unprecedented protests after the LDF government decided to implement the Supreme Court order.

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