Menstrual Impurity and Religious Sacrilege: The Great Indian Kitchen as a Document of Women's Empowerment in Kerala

The Supreme Court verdict of September 2018 permitting women of menstruating age to enter the famous Sabarimala temple was met with vehement protests all over Kerala. The state witnessed campaigns for the preservation of customs and traditions, widespread riots, scenes of arson, rage and vituperation -- all pointing to the misogyny of a society which was regarded as modern and progressive. The Great Indian Kitchen, a movie by Jeo Baby released in the year 2021, is a response to the incidents surrounding the Sabarimala Verdict. The female protagonist, who undergoes harrowing experiences in her marital home including ostracization during her menstrual period, retorts by polluting the sacred rituals of the male folk who are embarking on a pilgrimage to Sabarimala. The paper examines how the movie subverts the notion of menstrual impurity through the act of religious sacrilege and the questioning of patriarchal authority.