A Parsi woman’s victory in the Supreme Court over her right to enter the fire temple, even though she had an inter-faith marriage, may have a significant bearing on the religious rights of women from other faiths. The Valsad-based Parsi Anjuman Trust’s undertaking in the apex court to open the doors of the place of worship for Goolrokh M Gupta, who married a Hindu, is underlined by a desire to embrace reforms, albeit after a little legal prodding. Every religion should undergo a churning, keeping in mind the dynamics and needs of the era it is in. Clinging on to calcified traditions for the sake of maintaining purity is a hollow excuse for practising segregation. An individual’s fundamental right to practice religion is sacrosanct, which no trust, denomination, or seminary can violate. The Bombay High Court’s decision that women have every right to enter the inner sanctum of Mumbai’s iconic Haji Ali dargah was inspired by the need to end gender discrimination. Now it is the turn of the Sabarimala temple to show openness to end a centuries’ old custom that restricts the entry of women aged between 10 and 50 — those who are in the menstruating age — on the grounds that the deity is celibate. If the objective is to worship god with devotion, who is man to pose barriers for other human beings? Are customs more important than a believer’s love for the deity? The five-judge Constitution bench, which will hear the Sabarimala case, will have to deal with this flagrant violation of constitutional principles and morality. Going back to the Parsi trust case, its progressive stand to allow women to be present for the last rites of their loved ones in the ‘tower of silence’ should now encourage similar trusts to bring in sweeping reforms. A dwindling community can ill-afford isolation.