India: Woman journalist asked to move from front row, take distance from Jain priests on stage

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Men-in-front-women-behind-in-Dadar-temple/articleshow/47114417.cms

Men in front, women behind in Dadar temple
Bella Jaisinghani, TNN | Apr 30, 2015, 11.25PM IST

MUMBAI: Authorities of the Swaminarayan temple in Dadar on Thursday allegedly compelled a woman journalist on an assignment to vacate her seat in the press box, saying the front rows were "reserved for men". The function was not organized on the temple premises but in the adjacent Yogi auditorium.

The reporter, who works with a Marathi television channel, was there to cover a felicitation of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis by a religious outfit in the wake of the beef ban.

Several politicians and citizens expressed disapproval of the incident. Fadnavis slammed the temple authorities for discriminating against female journalists. "We are in the 21st century. A society progresses only when women get due respect. All such practices should be stopped," he said in his speech.

The journalist told TOI, "I arrived at the venue and occupied a seat in front inside the press enclosure. Two men asked me to move to the back row saying the first three rows were reserved for men. They said as per the tenets of their sect, women are not allowed to sit in the front three rows. I was appalled and said I had been invited in my capacity as a media professional, and that had no connection with my gender. If they had such stipulations, the invitation card should have asked that only male journalists be present."

Even as the first group of ushers left, two more men arrived and asked the reporter to vacate her seat. She then approached BJP MLA Ashish Shelar, who urged the organizers to not discriminate among professionals. "Such behavior cannot be supported," Shelar said. But the impasse remained unresolved and the journalist left the venue.

A spokesman of the Swaminarayan temple in Dadar denied the incident had occurred. He told TOI, "Swaminarayan temple has several branches citywide so the incident may have happened elsewhere. We do have a rule that women are not allowed to enter the garbhgrih (sanctum sanctorum) of the temple but they are allowed to take darshan from a distance. This instruction came from our founder Shri Swaminarayan 200 years ago. We respect women and have special committees for them to do social work."

The Santacruz Jain Tapagachh Sangh, which organized the function, issued a press note denying it was responsible. It said the Jain faith treats men and women equally and it was "instructed to devise separate seating arrangements for men and women". TOI asked the Sangh why they agreed to comply but did not receive a response.