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Indian Court Holds Women Heirs of Priests Have Equal Rights To Share In Offerings

By Howard M. Friedman

In India, a Delhi High Court judge has ruled that women in priestly families of the Kalkaji Temple have an equal right with men to share in the offerings collected during festivals. Today's Hindustan Times  and Express India report on the decision that dismissed a suit by one of the priests seeking an order to prevent his three sisters from claiming a share of the offerings.  The court rejected arguments that historically only males shared in the offerings because they are the ones who performed temple rituals.  The court wrote in part: "If one keeps the underlying principles of the international covenants and the guarantee of equality held out by our Constitution in mind, it would be anachronistic and regressive to affirm the contention that the discriminatory practice of excluding female heirs from the benefits of property rights to which Baris are attached, which appears to have existed all this while, should be continued."

Full post as published by Religion Clause on October 25, 2010 (boomark / email).