The temple has been at the center of weeks of showdowns between Hindu devotees supporting the ban and women activists The Supreme Court ordered the end of a longstanding ban on women aged between 10 and 50 on entering the temple THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India: Two women on Wednesday entered one of Hinduism’s holiest shrines in south India becoming the first to go into Sabarimala temple since the Supreme Court ordered the end of a longstanding ban on women aged between 10 and 50, a state chief minister said. The temple has been at the center of weeks of showdowns between Hindu devotees supporting the ban and women activists who have been forced back several times from Sabarimala. Media reports said the women entered the hilltop temple just before dawn with police security. Kerala state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said: “It is a fact that the women entered the shrine. Police are bound to offer protection to anyone wanting to worship at the shrine.”