After the Shani Shingnapur temple opened its doors to female devotees last week, Kolhapur district’s Mahalaxmi temple followed suit on Monday. The temple, which did not allow women to enter its sanctum sanctorum, saw eight women step inside the inner sanctum while police and district authorities provided them security, PTI said.

The move comes after a Bombay High Court ruling ordered all places of worship in Maharashtra to allow women inside if men were given entry. The state government has agreed to comply with the court’s order and enforce the rule across Maharashtra in the coming months.

The controversial Shani Shingnapur temple in the state's Ahmednagar district opened its doors to women last week, with activists having pushed for equal rights there since January this year. On Monday, the Supreme Court pulled up authorities at the Sabarimala temple in Kerala for an archaic rule that prevents women between the ages of 10 and 50 from entering the premises.