Eiffel Tower Women Staff Row Was ‘Miscommunication’, Says BAPS Monk Brahmavihari Swami

BAPS monk Brahmavihari Swami has described the controversy over the alleged sidelining of women employees during the organisation’s visit to the Eiffel Tower in Paris as a “miscommunication”, saying he does not blame the monument’s management for the incident.

Speaking at the NDTV World Summit, Swami said an investigation found no explicit request from the BAPS delegation to exclude women employees from the entire procession.

Investigation Points to Communication Failure

“There was a miscommunication on the part of the Eiffel Tower. I do not blame them as well,” Brahmavihari Swami said during a session titled Beyond Intelligence: AI, Faith and the Meaning of Being Human.

The controversy erupted after female employees were reportedly removed from their duties or kept out of sight during the BAPS delegation’s private visit on September 5. The incident triggered a staff walkout, led to the Eiffel Tower being closed for a day and drew widespread criticism in France, where secularism and gender equality are central public values.

An investigation by the General Inspectorate of the City of Paris reportedly found no written evidence that the Hindu delegation had explicitly requested the exclusion of women from the entire procession. French newspaper Le Parisien reported that the inquiry identified communication failures and what it described as a “collective dysfunction”.

BAPS Monk Highlights Organisation’s Engagement With France

Addressing the controversy, Brahmavihari Swami said BAPS had spent nearly a decade engaging with French authorities before receiving permission to build a temple in the country.

He also referred to the organisation’s participation in a cultural procession on the River Seine, involving approximately 5,500 people aboard 11 boats.

Swami said the Eiffel Tower management had welcomed the delegation, which visited the monument during normal opening hours to avoid inconveniencing other visitors.

‘We Observe Our Spiritual Disciplines, But Never Enforce Them’

Explaining the religious discipline followed by monks, Brahmavihari Swami said brahmacharya, or celibacy, was a personal spiritual commitment and should not be interpreted as a rejection of women or as justification for gender discrimination.

“As monks, we observe our spiritual disciplines, which we observe but never enforce upon anybody,” he said.

He also stressed that protecting human life takes precedence over religious rules, saying monks must set aside their restrictions when someone is in danger.

“If the life of a woman is in danger, all the monks have to give up their laws and help the lady first. Life is the most sacred. You understand? That’s the law,” he said.

His remarks at the summit focused on the distinction between personal religious observance and imposing religious practices on others in public settings.