mo4ch:>1 dead, 100+ wounded in clashes sparked by dispute over women’s access to temple in India | Mo4ch News

Over 100 people were injured and one was killed in violence that erupted as Hindu nationalists called for a statewide strike in Kerala after two women were allowed access to a sacred site in defiance of tradition.Thursday’s shutdown is the latest battle in an ongoing violent conflict which began after India’s Supreme Court revoked an ancient religious ban on women of menstruating age participating in worship at the Sabarimala Temple.The general strike was called in response to two women successfully reaching the temple grounds on Wednesday for the first time, leading to purification rituals and widespread anger among conservative Hindus.Read more The local umbrella opposition alliance which organized the protests – the United Democratic Front (UDF) – declared it to be a “black day” in Kerala, placing the blame on the state’s ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM) and accusing the two women who entered the temple of being “Maoists.”Taxis, buses, and shops shut down across the st…