Women have their way - regain entry into Haji Ali dargah after five years

Women finally have their way - after five years and a number of legal battles and protests, they regained entry into the iconic Haji Ali dargah in Mumbai.
Until 2011, they were allowed access to the shrine's sanctum sanctorum. However, suddenly, their entry was blocked. In 2014, Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan BMMA petitioned the Bombay high court against the ban and, on August 26 this year, the high court lifted it. The dargah trust had challenged the decision in the Supreme Court but, the SC upheld the order.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 30 November 2016.

A group of around 100 women from across the country reached the Haji Ali dargah to be the first to have the privilege. The dargah trustees helped them to offer flowers and the 'chadar' at the saint's tomb and also offered them tea. The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) had spearheaded the struggle for women's entry to the shrine. Apart from praying at the dargah, the women enjoyed the sama (Sufi qawwali) session.
The dargah trust has indicated that in order to ensure that the women worshippers are not inconvenienced, both men and women will stand in separate queues and two metres away from the saint's tomb and pray. They would comply with the affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court and allow equal space to both men and women worshippers.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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