Dravidian model will let women to enter temples as priests, claims a TN CM

According to the Dravidian form of government, women will soon be allowed to serve as priests in Tamil Nadu’s temples, according to Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday.

According to Stalin, even at temples dedicated to female deities, women were prohibited from serving as temple priests because they were regarded unclean, notwithstanding their accomplishments as pilots and astronauts. But finally, change has arrived!

Women are now entering the sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu, ushering in a new age of inclusion and equality, as our Dravidian model government has done to remove the sting from Thanthai Periyar’s heart by selecting persons from all castes as priests.

Three women have successfully finished their training at the Archakar (priest) Training School administered by the Sri Ranganathar temple in Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli, as part of a state effort to adequately educate and appoint people belonging to all castes as priests.

Reformist leader ‘Periyar’ E V Ramasamy once referred to it as a “thorn” in his heart to forbid non-Brahmins from serving as temple priests.

In certain temples around the state, women already serve in the role of priest. P K Sekar Babu, the Minister of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, has said in 2021 that after receiving training, women might be appointed as priests at temples.