Just days after the Supreme Court verdict allowing entry of women of all ages into Sabarimala Temple, an artist is being mercilessly trolled for drawing a picture depicting "menstruating" Durga. Just days ahead of the Durga Puja, artist Aniket Mitra is facing the wrath of netizens for his piece of art captioned "Shakti Rupen", meaning, a facet of power. Sabarimala Verdict: I'm a Woman, I Bleed And The Right to Pray is Mine as Much as It's Yours.

Aniket posted the image on his Facebook page and soon after, started getting comments with some users calling him "anti-Hindu" and some tagging him "anti-national". In fact, Aniket has claimed that this even went to the extent of his family members including his wife and brother being harassed. It all ended in Aniket being forced to take down the image. Sabarimala Temple Verdict: Doors For Ayyappa Darshan Open For Women of All Age Groups, Rules Supreme Court Saying Biological Reasons Can't be Given Legitimacy.

However, it had spread all over the Internet and is now being shared widely by women's rights activists calling for equal rights for women irrespective of whether they are menstruating or not.

Aniket has been quoted by News18 as saying, "I have watched first my sisters and now my wife struggle with taboos regarding their periods. I have seen them be asked to not come to certain places because they are menstruating. As someone living in 2018, this infuriates me." Sabarimala Verdict by Supreme Court Highlights: 'Women are Worshipped like Goddesses, Temple Doors Cannot be Closed For Them'

The debate on the entry of menstruating women into places of worship has gained pace once again after the Supreme Court last month in a landmark judgment opened the doors of Sabarimala Temple in Kerala for Ayyappa Darshan for women of all age groups, saying women are worshipped as goddesses and no biological reason can be given legitimacy.

"To treat women as children of lesser God is to blink at Constitutional morality. Physiological features cannot be a ground for denial of right. To suggest that women cannot keep Vratam is to stigmatise them," the verdict said.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 04, 2018 10:15 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).