Dozens of women entered the inner sanctum of a historic Sufi shrine in Mumbai yesterday after winning a bitter legal battle.
The Haji Ali Dargah trust agreed last month to lift a ban on women entering the landmark mausoleum off the coast of Mumbai after a group of women campaigners launched a legal case.
The trustees put the ban in place in 2011 arguing that allowing them near the tomb of a revered saint was a “grievous sin.”
Campaigner Noorjehan Niaz called it a “victory for women’s rights” and said it would set a strong precedent for similar cases.
“We are very happy the ban against women’s entry into the shrine was lifted,” she said.
“Credit must be given where due and the trustees ensured our visit to the inner sanctum of the mosque was peaceful. We even had chai (tea) with them after the visit.”
Haji Ali Dargah is one of Mumbai’s most recognisable landmarks and receives tens of thousands of people every week.
The building is located on an islet accessible via a causeway at low tide.
It was constructed in 1431 in memory of Sayyed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari, a wealthy Muslim merchant from Bukhara (now in Uzbekistan).
He renounced all his worldly possessions, travelled all around the world, made a pilgrimage to Makkah and finally settled in what would become Mumbai.
In Kerala yesterday, the administration of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, informed the Kerala High Court that it had decided to let women wearing ‘churidar’ enter the shrine.
Executive Officer K N Satish said the high court had asked him to take the decision based on a petition.
“I informed the court yesterday that women can enter the temple in churidar,” he said.
The famed temple that shot into international fame since 2011 after it was found to have a treasure estimated to be in excess of one lakh crores, stacked in five vaults.
The customary dress code for women entering the temple is that they should cover their dress with a dhoti or a sari and this was challenged by woman advocate Riya Raji.
A few years back, the Sree Krishna temple at Guruvayoor also allowed entry of women wearing churidar.
Women in India have been intensifying their campaigns to be allowed to enter a string of Hindu temples and other religious sites.
Women leave after visiting the inner sanctum of the Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai yesterday.
