Bindu Ammini

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Bindu Ammini is a lawyer, professor, feminist and activist from Kerala, India. She is one of the two first women between the age of ten and fifty to enter the Sabarimala Temple after the Indian Supreme Court decision which allowed women of reproductive age to enter the temple.

Early life and education[]

Ammini is originally from Pathanamthitta, Kerala.[1] She is the youngest of five siblings.[2] After her mother left her father, she was raised in poverty by her mother.[2][3]

She is the first in her family to attend college.[2] As a student, she was a leader in the CPI (ML) student wing, Kerala Vidyarthi Sanghatana,[4][1] and became the youngest female state coordinator for CPI (ML).[2] According to Time, "she clarifies that the party she was in is state-recognized and that she has never believed in armed rebellion", and she quit the party in 2011.[2] In 2019, CPI (ML) politburo member PJ James stated Ammini had not been connected to the party for ten years.[4]

She has a master's degree in law.[4][3]

Career[]

Ammini has previously worked as a teacher at Calicut University. She is a lawyer in the Koyilandi court, and is an assistant professor at the School of Legal Studies at the Thalassery campus of Kannur University.[1][4] She also runs a grocery store along with her husband.[2]

She is a Kerala state leader for the Bhim Army.[5]

Sabarimala entry[]

After the Supreme Court decision allowing the entry of women between the ages of ten and fifty into the Sabarimala Temple,[6] Ammini joined social media groups created by activists.[2] She met Kanakadurga on the Facebook page Navothana Keralam Sabarimalayilekku (Renaissance Kerala), which was organized for women who wanted to visit the temple.[4][3]

First attempt[]

On December 22, 2018, Ammini, Kanakadurga, and two other women, met in Thrissur and then attempted to go to Sabarimala.[2] The other two women quit during the trip, and on December 24, Ammini and Kanakadurga were stopped by protesters.[2][3] They then went on a hunger strike to protest the lack of police protection.[2][3]

Second attempt[]

Ammini, along with Kanaka Durga, entered the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple around 3:45 am on January 2, 2019.[7] They were seen wearing black clothes and hurrying into the shrine, escorted by the police.[7] Videos of their temple entry were circulated in social media in India with messages of support and opposition.[8] Their temple entry was confirmed by the chief minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan.[9] After they entered, the priests closed the temple for a purification ceremony.[2][10]

Ammini was placed under police protection after the entry to Sabarimala.[11][8] She was forced to go into hiding after the successful entry into the temple.[12][13] Her house was mobbed by people belonging to Sabarimala Karma Samiti, and other organizations to protest against her entry to Sabarimala.[1] In February 2019, she said she was still receiving death threats.[6]

Ammini believes in subaltern feminism, referring to the rights of women in the oppressed classes.[2] She has stated that she believes the protest against women entering the temple is politically motivated.[14] She has stated, "We were not trying to start trouble", and "Our goal was only to visit the temple. For the next generation of women, this is motivation."[3] Some members of the Bharatiya Janata Party called their entry a "black day".[11] The chief minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, a supporter of the Supreme Court decision, said the entry into the temple by Ammini and Kankadurga was a historic moment.[10]

Third attempt[]

In November 2019, the Supreme Court kept its 2018 decision in place, but set the case for review by a larger bench.[15] The Kerala government then withdrew its support and police protection for women entering the temple, pending the decision of the Supreme Court.[16][17] After this announcement, Amminu and other activists, including Trupti Desai, went to the Ernakulam City Commissioner's office in late November to seek police protection for another attempt to visit the shrine.[17][18]

Ammini was attacked by chilli/pepper spray outside of the commissioner's office, after which she was hospitalized.[19][20] The National Commission of Women asked Kerala DGP to send an action report regarding the incident.[21] In December 2019, the Supreme Court declined to grant protection orders for the Sabarimala visit.[22] On February 24, 2021, the Kerala High Court granted pre-arrest bail to two people alleged to be connected with the group that sprayed Ammini when she went to the Ernakulam City Commissioner's office in 2019 to request police protection in advance of her attempt to enter the temple.[18]

Personal life[]

Ammini belongs to the Dalit community.[1] When she was 18, she met her husband, Hariharan, while being active in student politics and they settled in Poyilkavu after their marriage.[1][2] She has a daughter named Olga, after Olga Benário Prestes, who was killed in the Holocaust.[2][3]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Meethal, Amiya (3 January 2019). "Bindu Ammini, husband were with CPI (ML) earlier". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "They Entered a Forbidden Hindu Temple in the Name of Women's Rights. Now They're in Hiding". Time. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Schultz, Kai (January 18, 2019). "Her Visit to a Men-Only Temple Went Smoothly. Then the Riots Started". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e "A lawyer and a govt employee: Meet Bindu and Kanakadurga, who entered Sabarimala". The News Minute. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  5. ^ Henry, Nikhila (February 12, 2021). "Congress Using Sabarimala to Win Kerala: 1st Woman to Enter Temple". The Quint. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  6. ^ a b Schultz, Kai (February 6, 2019). "Let Women Enter Hindu Temple, Indian Religious Board Says, in Reversal". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  7. ^ a b "2 Women Below 50 Enter Sabarimala, Temple Reopens After "Purification"". NDTV.com. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Videos show women entering Indian temple after centuries-old ban". The Observers - France 24. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  9. ^ Saberin, Zeenat. "Indian women defy Hindu temple ban amid protests". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Sabarimala: Indian women make history by entering temple". BBC News. January 2, 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  11. ^ a b Schultz, Kai; Venkataraman, Ayesha (January 2, 2019). "2 Indian Women Enter Sabarimala Temple, Setting Off Protests Near Hindu Shrine". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  12. ^ "'Sabarimala case will become like Ayodhya': Bindu Ammini who entered temple reacts". The News Minute. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Indian Woman Who Entered Forbidden Temple Says Her Family Assaulted When She Returned Home". Time. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  14. ^ Delhi, India Today Web Desk New. "Tale of Bindu and Kankadurga: 2 women who braved odds and entered Sabarimala temple". India Today. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  15. ^ Vishwanath, Apurva (November 15, 2019). "Sabarimala majority ruling: Review pending, scope widened". The Indian Express. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  16. ^ Philip, Shaju (November 16, 2019). "Kerala govt's flip-flop on Sabarimala: Won't take young women to shrine". The Indian Express. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  17. ^ a b Web Desk (November 26, 2019). "Bindu Ammini, who prayed at Sabarimala last year, attacked with chilli spray before fresh attempt". The Indian Express. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  18. ^ a b "Kerala High Court Grants Pre-Arrest Bail To 2 Men Accused Of Attacking Sabarimala Activist; Finds Allegations Prima Facie Mala Fide". LiveLaw.in. March 5, 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  19. ^ "Bindu Ammini, First Woman To Enter Sabarimala In 2018, Attacked With Chilli Powder". HuffPost. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Bindu Ammini, who prayed at Sabarimala last year, attacked with chilli spray before fresh attempt". The Indian Express. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  21. ^ "NCW asks Kerala DGP to send report on chilli powder attack on woman activist". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  22. ^ Chaudhary, Nilashish (December 12, 2019). "'We Know Law Is In Your Favour And There Is No Stay; But We Are Not Passing Any Orders': SC To Women Seeking Protection For Sabarimala Visit". LiveLaw.in. Retrieved 28 March 2021.

See also[]

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