Kanaka Durga, one of two women who made history by becoming the first woman in the menstruating age, to enter the Sabarimala hill temple in Kerala, was attacked by relatives on her return home yesterday.

She has been admitted in a hospital at Perinthalmanna in Malappuram district.


Her husband had filed a missing person report and his family had disowned her following her Januray 2 entry into the hill shrine dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, considered to be a celibate deity.


Following threats by hardline groups Bindu Ammini, 40, a law lecturer at Kerala's Kannur University and Kanaka Durga, 39, a civil servant, had gone into hiding after entering the hill shrine.


Their entry sparked widespread protests and a day-long strike in Kerala.
The women had said they were facing threats from protesters, but that they trusted the authorities to keep them safe and planned to return home soon.


Also read: How two women entered Sabarimala temple


Image:  Kanaka Durga (wrapped in a white shawl) with Bindu Ammini had entered the shrine on the intervening night of January 1-2, 2019.