Are Indian courts and activists denying the gods their gender and sexuality?

Published on 18th April, 2016, on scroll.in . Why are women not allowed into certain temples? The easy and lazy answer: Because a section of Hindu men who also control temples consider menstruating women as dirty and polluted. The complex answer: Because the gods enshrined in these temples are seen in local folklore as celibate whose power or siddhi comes from staying away from all things feminine. Typically, these are forms associated with Shiva, who is considered the supreme hermit in Hindu mythology. These shrines include Shani (in Shingnapur, Maharashtra), Ayyappa (in Sabarimala, Kerala), Baba Balaknath (in Harimpur, Himachal) and Kartikeya (Pehowa, Haryana). Isn’t the ..