India women: First female climbs sacred mountain.

Pedro_P

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

▼ A woman has climbed a mountain in India, where only men were allowed until now for religious reasons.
Dhanya Sanal's ascent to the summit of Agasthyakoodam in southern Kerala state came after a court ruling in November.
Local tribespeople oppose women climbing it because of its statue of a Hindu sage associated with celibacy.
Ms Sanal, 38, told the BBC she had not been stopped by locals or protesters. Campaigners say it's a victory in the fight to end gender discrimination.
Ms Sanal said she had been "ready to turn back" if tribespeople stopped her, but while she did encounter protesters, she said they had not prevented her from continuing her trek.
In November, the high court in Kerala ruled that women could trek to the 1,868m (6,128ft) peak. The court said that restrictions on trekking could not be based on gender after a women's group petitioned the court.
The group welcomed Ms Sanal's climb.
"We have moved one step ahead in ending gender discrimination in Kerala," Divya Divakaran, one of its members, told the BBC.
Located within a biosphere reserve in India's Western Ghats, Agasthyakoodam is the second highest peak in Kerala.
The high court rejected the claim made by tribespeople, who live at the foothills, that the verdict hurt their beliefs.
They had said they worshipped the sage, Agastya, and did not want women in the vicinity of his idol as that amounted to disrespecting his celibacy. (▪ ▪ ▪)

► Please, read the full news here: Source