Women Protest Over India Temple Ban and New Government in Bangladesh Awash in Corruption Scandals
By Steve BynumWomen Protest Over India Temple Ban and New Government in Bangladesh Awash in Corruption Scandals
By Steve BynumIn the Southern Indian state of Kerala, two women flouted a Supreme Court ruling that banned females of menstruating age (between 10 and 50) from entering Sabarimala temple. The women are now in hiding. The 13th century shrine draws over 50 million visitors a year. Thousands took to the streets in protest, but were quickly arrested by police. Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, ruling party leader Sheikh Hasina will soon be sworn in for her fourth term as prime minister. Her Awami League Party’s landslide victory was tainted by deadly pre-election violence, massive voter fraud accusations, and the detention of a local Awami League leader over a suspected gang rape. Today, Worldview covers these hot stories from South Asia with Sumit Ganguly, professor of Indian Cultures and Civilizations and director of the Center on American and Global Security at Indiana University-Bloomington. He’ll give analysis on the Sabarimala Shrine protests, and the Bangladesh elections, a process Ganguly writes was a “debacle…[and] mockery…turning the country into an authoritarian state.”