Women entering Haji Ali will inspire more fights against discriminatory social laws
For Muslim women, the Haji Ali judgment is more than just a permission to enter the sanctum of a religious shrine; their success has created the path for more fights against discriminatory social laws. By taking on patriarchal diktats, the women have set the agenda for more reforms – in social, religious and marital laws
Dargahs are among the most egalitarian of religious shrines: While some have restrictions on the entry of women – or men – most do not discriminate. The rituals are simple and are not dictated by theology; singing, dancing and sharing food is part of the worship. You do not have to be a Muslim to ask the saint interred in the shrine to pray to god on your behalf.
In 2012, when a group of women were turned away from the inner sanctum of Mumbai’s Haji Ali dargah, the portals of the shrine were no longer so welcoming. The shrine trust justified the ban, explaining that shariat (religious laws) prohibited women from touching the tomb, but worshippers said there were not such restrictions till 2011. The shrine trust’s attempt to defend its discriminatory order made no sense.
There is no ban on women worshippers at Mumbai’s other popular dargah, Makhdoom Ali Mahimi, at Mahim, though this shrine shares some trustees with Haji Ali. The Nizamuddin and Qutbuddin Baktiyar Kaki shrines in Delhi do not give women full access, but the country’s most famous Sufi shrine, the Moinuddin Chisti dargah at Ajmer, has no such restrictions. The rule on entry of women, dargah caretakers have said, is based on tradition.
When talks with the shrine trustees did not solve the matter, the women contacted the National Commission for Minorities, the National Commission for Women and ministers. In August 2014, they petitioned the Bombay High Court. After eight hearings, the court struck down the ban on women’s entry into the sanctum. The trust challenged the order in the Supreme Court, only to tell the apex court that they have, as a ‘progressive step’, decided to lift the ban.
On Tuesday, about 60 women, walked along the narrow causeway that links the rocky islet housing the shrine to the city, and entered the chamber that holds the marble-covered tomb of Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari, a 14th century trader who gave away his wealth and died a pauper. As the women prayed, a Qawwali group sat in the shrine’s courtyard, singing ‘Piya Haji Ali’ in praise of the saint.
For Muslim women, the Haji Ali judgment is more than just a permission to enter the sanctum of a religious shrine; their success has created the path for more fights against discriminatory social laws. By taking on patriarchal diktats, the women have set the agenda for more reforms – in social, religious and marital laws. After their victory, the groups that supported the campaign said that their next fight will be to get triple talaq banned.
The women from Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), which had filed the petition, and their supporters like the Haji Ali Sab Ke Liye Forum have said that the case sets a precedent. Noorjehan Safia Niaz, co-founder of BMMA, had said that the order was a victory for democratic values, women’s power, constitutional values and Quranic values.
The petitioners had said that they were happy that the dispute went to the Supreme Court. The petition’s passage though the apex court has ensured that the case will have national repercussions.
manoj.nair@hindustantimes.com