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Sabarimala Protests: Woman Journalist From NYT, Who Began Trek This Morning, Forced To Turn Back

On Wednesday, the first day the temple was opened after the Supreme Court verdict, no woman was able to enter the shrine.
Women in favour of barring women of menstruating age from entering the Sabarimala temple scan vehicles at Nilakkal, the base camp on way to Sabarimala temple, on Tuesday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Women in favour of barring women of menstruating age from entering the Sabarimala temple scan vehicles at Nilakkal, the base camp on way to Sabarimala temple, on Tuesday.

PAMBA —A Delhi-based journalist of The New York Times was forced to turn back from her trek towards Sabarimala temple amid protests by devotees.

PTI reported that Suhasini Raj began trekking to the Sabarimala hill amid protests by devotees opposing the entry of girls and women of menstrual age into the hill shrine.

News18 reported that Raj had to stop at Marakkoottam after protesters blocked her way. She was also stopped at Pamba, the report said, but she managed to get away from them.

PTI reported that the police threw a security ring around Raj who was accompanied by her colleague, a foreigner.

Local TV crews said Raj was in her late 40s and if she climbed the hill, she would be the first woman of menstrual age to visit the Sabarimala temple of Lord Ayyappa after the Supreme Court order permitting women of all age groups to enter the shrine.

This comes after three women journalists were violently attacked by protesters on Wednesday.

No woman was able to enter Sabarimala Temple on the first day the temple opened after the Supreme Court judgement.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.