Women in Greece have started expressing their wish to free access to the monasteries at the Athos Penninsula in Greece. The peninsula of Mount Athos, also known as the Holly Mount, is scattered with 20 monasteries. To keep the sanctity of the place women and female animals have been banned from setting foot on the holly ground since the eleventh century. The ban was introduced in 1045 with the claim that women were "impure", and if disrespected it is punished with two to twelve months in prison. This veto is an anachronism in the EU society, some Greek women claim, and ask for equal access. The EU parliament has already urged Greece to discard the ban twice - in 2002 and in 2003 but to no avail.