Menstruating Women Are Blocked From Temple In Video Game — And In Real Life
In Darshan Diversion, avatars of menstruating women dodge Hindu priests trying to bar them from a temple. Meanwhile, women of childbearing age can't enter India's Sabarimala temple — for real.
Two years ago, Padmini Ray Murray created a controversial video game at a hackathon contest. But it's not just a game. It a microcosm of what's happening today in India.
In the game, called Darshan Diversion, avatars of women in red saris try to reach the top floor of a temple, dodging miniature Hindu priests along the way. A red blinking light indicates when the women are menstruating. The priests try to block them, shouting in exasperation.
At the Sabarimala temple in the southern state of
