Berachos 22a says that the words of torah cannot become defiled. It is merely a matter of minhag when certain persons disallow a woman from handling a sefer torah. The Rambam says explicitly: Any impure person, even [a woman in] a niddah state or a gentile, may hold a Torah scroll and read it. The words of Torah do not contract ritual impurity. This applies when one’s hands are not soiled or dirty with mud. [In the latter instance,] one should wash one’s hands and then touch the scroll. (Hilchos tefillin, mezuzah, sefer torah perek yud, halacha het)
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