NEW DELHI (Diya TV) — BAPS monk Brahmavihari Swami said the removal of female employees from some Eiffel Tower posts during a September visit by a Hindu delegation resulted from miscommunication. He said a Paris investigation found no explicit request from the delegation to exclude women from the entire procession.
“It was a miscommunication on the part of the Eiffel Tower. I do not blame them as well,” Swami said at the NDTV World Summit on Friday.
The Paris city inspectorate’s investigation, released earlier this month, also found no explicit request to exclude women throughout the visit. But it described a “collective dysfunction”: a request to limit interactions with women was passed through tower management and expanded into instructions that led staff to move or replace female employees. The findings do not support a blanket account that no gender-related request was made.
The visit took place Sept. 5, when about 100 people associated with BAPS toured the landmark. The delegation was in France for events marking the inauguration of a BAPS temple near Paris. Eiffel Tower employees said female workers were told to leave some posts, avoid certain areas or limit contact with the group. Staff protested, and the tower closed to visitors for a day.
BAPS said its coordination with tower management aimed to minimize disruption and was not intended to exclude women. The organization apologized to anyone hurt or inconvenienced. The tower operator also apologized, saying the arrangements conflicted with its values and gender-equality principles.
At the summit, Swami said BAPS monks observe brahmacharya, a spiritual discipline that includes celibacy, but do not impose their practices on others. He said monks should set aside their restrictions to help anyone whose life is in danger, including women.
Swami also said BAPS had worked with French authorities for nearly a decade to establish its temple. He said the group scheduled the tower visit during regular opening hours to avoid disrupting other visitors.
