A controversy has arisen over a recent incident at the famous Eiffel Tower in Paris, the capital of France.
After this controversy, questions have been raised about the role of women in Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a branch of the Swaminarayan sect.
This sect is about 200 years old. It was founded by Swaminarayan. He was born as Ghanshyam Pandey in Uttar Pradesh.
The controversy related to the Eiffel Tower has once again brought the age-old religious traditions of this sect into discussion. BBC tried to investigate some questions related to this issue, like what is actually written about women in the religious texts of Swaminarayan sect and why do sadhus maintain such distance from women?
According to devotees who regularly visit Swaminarayan temples, women are not allowed to touch the feet of saints to seek blessings.
BBC tried to talk to the official spokesperson of Baps on this issue, but he refused to talk on this topic.
The tradition of keeping women away from religious places in India is not a new thing. Kerala's Sabarimala temple has long been at the center of controversy over the ban on women's entry.
The Supreme Court had ordered to lift this ban, but the final decision in this matter is still pending.
Speaking to BBC Gujarati, social activist and writer Swaroop Dhruv said, "In my opinion, every religion has considered women untouchable in some way or the other, but some have presented it as their specialty, like the Swaminarayan sect."
Gaurang Jani, a sociologist and researcher of the Swaminarayan sect, says that this sect was formed with the aim of attracting people from the deprived and marginalized sections of the society.
In the early 19th century, when several sects already existed within Hinduism, Ghanshyam Pandey started a new tradition in 1801 and named it the Swaminarayan sect.
Since then the headquarters of this sect has been in the western state of India, Gujarat.
Since its establishment in 1801, the Swaminarayan tradition has had strict rules for its disciples, especially regarding the observance of celibacy by its saints. According to Swaminarayan's ancient text 'Shikshapatri', the saint cannot touch or see a woman.
However, this is nothing new for the regular followers of the Baps tradition.
For example, Gaurang Jani's mother regularly visited Swaminarayan temples.
Gaurang Jani has been the Head of the Department of Sociology of Gujarat University.
He had observed that his mother was not allowed to have normal darshan of the Lord or even to enter the temple normally. Women were allowed entry into the temple, but they were always kept separate from men.
Speaking to the BBC, she said, "When it comes to religion, our social history shows that women accepted it as a sign of God."
"Right from the beginning we are taught that religious rituals and traditions should not be questioned. Hence this practice gradually became widely accepted even in Swaminarayan temples, where a large number of women come to visit regularly."
Gaurang Jani believes that these strict rules of celibacy were part of an attempt to differentiate itself from other religious traditions.
At that time there was competition going on between these traditions to gain followers.
He said, "The sect faced competition with other sects of Hinduism, such as the Vaishnava sect. So to differentiate themselves, they emphasized strict celibacy and started inspiring people to practice celibacy in order to become monks of the sect."
How did the Swaminarayan sect start?
The Swaminarayan sect emerged in Western India in the beginning of the 19th century. Its founder Swaminarayan was born as Ghanshyam in 1781 in Chhapaiya village located in present-day Uttar Pradesh.
After traveling throughout India for seven years, he came to Gujarat and started the sect in 1801.
This sect was started to fill the void existing among the people of deprived and marginalized sections and to attract them towards itself. Later, the Patidar community of Gujarat, who settled in different parts of the world, became the largest followers of this sect.
Even before independence, the first international temple of this sect was built in Nairobi in 1945.
Sadhus of Swaminarayan sect have good relations with political leaders. These include leaders from the mayor of any city to the President of America.
Swami Maharaj, the most popular saint of this sect, holds the Guinness World Record for building the most number of temples across the world. About 1,300 temples have been built around the world.
Why is celibacy followed in Swaminarayan sect?
A code of conduct for the followers has been given in the holy book 'Shikshapatri' of the Swaminarayan sect. In this book consisting of 212 verses, different rules are given for householders, women, sadhus and ascetics who have taken a strict vow of celibacy.
Shikshapatri was written to guide those who follow this tradition. Some special rules have also been given for women in Shikshapatri.
It says that during menstruation, a woman should not touch any person, clothes or utensils for three days. She can do this after taking bath on the fourth day.
However, the strictest rules regarding contact with women are not for women, but for monks or ascetics who have taken a vow of lifelong celibacy.
It also says that they should not intentionally touch, talk to or look at any woman.
According to the organization's website, the purpose of this rule is not to consider women inferior or impure. Its purpose is to help the Sadhu remain free from worldly desires and attachments during spiritual practice.
Critics of this practice say that even though religious reasons are given behind it, in practice its burden often falls on women, because women have to bear the responsibility of ensuring that the male monk observes the vow of celibacy.
Many women activists believe that the original question in the sect was related to the emotions and restraint of men, but in the end its impact and difficulties had to be faced by women.
Unlike some other branches of the Swaminarayan tradition, Haridham Sokhada, located in Vadodara, Gujarat, has a tradition of admitting women into the order of monks.
It was founded by the late Hariprasad Swami, who had seceded from the Baps. Since then, there are also women i.e. Sadhvis who have taken Sannyasa in Haridham.
BBC tried to reach its official spokesperson Sadhak Swamy, but he declined to comment.
What do the ladies say?
Social activist and writer Swaroop Dhruva told BBC Gujarati, "It is because of the sadhus' weak ability to control their emotions and desires that women are treated this way in this sect."
He said, "Sadhus cannot control their feelings and sensitivities towards women, so they are not allowed to look at women, touch them or even look at the picture of a woman. So the problem is not with the women, but with the sadhus of this sect."
Dhruv has continuously raised his voice against the discriminatory attitude towards women in religions through his writings and street theater performances.
Well-known artist and social activist Mallika Sarabhai believes that what has happened and what is happening is completely wrong.
While talking to BBC, he also said that the problem lies with men, not women. "If men cannot control their emotions and feelings when it comes to a woman, then why should women be punished for it?"
"They should close their eyes or not go to places where women are present. It just so happens that I am a vegetarian, so whenever I go out, I demand the closure of all the non-vegetarian food shops around me."
History of France and women's rights
On the one hand, there was some protest in India regarding the treatment of women in the Swaminarayan sect, but after allegations of the same being done in Paris, a huge controversy arose there.
Many people believe that this issue became more discussed in France due to the strong feminist tradition of raising voice for women's rights.
In this, the name of the revolutionary Olympus the Goose is noteworthy. She published a book named 'Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen' in 1791.
In this he had said that if women have the right to stand on the gallows, then they should also have the right to stand on the political platform.
The basic ideology of modern European democracy was born in France during the French Revolution of 1789. However, there have been allegations of women being systematically kept away from the political arena for more than a century.
The real democratic system in which women also got the right to vote could be established only in the middle of the 20th century. After this, legal battles continued for decades to give women rights related to their body and economic independence.
French women voted for the first time in local elections on April 29, 1945.
At present, the situation of gender equality in France has improved significantly.
According to official figures from Eurostat, women's representation in national governments is 48.6 percent.
Senior and junior ministers have also been included in this. In this way France has come close to almost complete equality between men and women.
