Women activists offered prayers at the Haji Ali Dargah on Tuesday to mark the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark October 24, 2016 judgment allowing women entry into the historic shrine.
Zakia Soman and Noorjehan Niaz, from Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, had filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court challenging the 2012 ban on women’s entry into the sanctum sanctorum.
Ms. Soman said, “We hope the judgment has led to opening up of spaces for women. You see women weeping outside the dargah as this patriarchal society doesn’t allow them space at home or outside to express their emotions. Women are demanding space where they can enjoy their rights.”
Ms. Niaz said, “It was a celebration to remember our success which came after a lot of effort.” Nishat Hussain, a social activist, said, “Exactly a year ago, a large group of women, including myself, proudly entered the dargah. We were welcomed by the members of the trust who imposed restrictions on women. Programmes were organised to celebrate our victory.”
On October 24, 2016, the Dargah Trust had told the Supreme Court that women would be granted access to the sanctum sanctorum on a par with men. The trust also sought four weeks’ time to make the requisite infrastructural changes.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and L. Nageswara Rao granted time to the trust and disposed of its appeal against the Bombay High Court order. The High Court on August 26 last year had held that the ban contravened Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution.