BIGOTRY AS A HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATION AT RELIGIOUS PLACES IN INDIA

Back to Page Authors: Neelu Mehra

---

Keywords: religious places, discrimination, women, constitutional provisions

---

Abstract: In the context of human rights, freedom and equality inextricably belong together. Without equality in the sense of non-discriminatory implementation, rights of freedom would amount to mere privileges of few members of the society. The fundamental human rights guarantees of equality and non-discrimination are legally binding obligations and do not need instrumental justifications. Despite this strong foundational pillar in international human rights instruments, the women are still fighting to be at par with the men in certain areas, Right to religion is the one of them. It is a callous reality that the country likes India, where we worship many goddesses as “devi”(the feminine deity) ,the women are not allowed to access to certain temples in the name of religious beliefs. There is no doubt that every person who have faith in God deserves to have equal rights to access to temples or other religious places and worship the God without any biological conformity. Even the Constitution of India ensured the privilege of Freedom of Religion and the right to equality under certain Articles. Still, in the 21st century, the women are being discriminated on the basis of the inequality in freedom of religion in India. The focus of the paper will be on the places where the women have no access to perform their religious rights and the reason behind their discriminatory beliefs. It will also highlight Judicial Perception and the Indian landmark judgements on the Right to Freedom of Religion.

---