Friday 21 October 2016

Women Entry To be Allowed In Inner Sanctum of Haji Ali

In a yet another twist to the longstanding issues of allowing entry of women into some of the religious places, the Haji Ali Dargarh’s case of banning women in the inner sanctum of the Dargah is all set to take a step in the direction of a more secular and progressive society.

Recently, the Haji Ali Dargah Management’s senior advocate Gopal Subramanium notified Supreme Court that the Management will begin the entry of women till the mazaar, which has the tomb of Muslim Saint Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari.



According to AsiaOne magazine’s research, Subramanium communicated to Chief Justice T S Thakur, that the management is ready to allow the women into the inner sanctum. He said, “The Dargah management will devise the mode and method for allowing women into the inner sanctum”.

In June 2012, the Haji Ali Trust which governs the mosque situated in South Mumbai, banned women’s entry till the mazaar but in Nov 2014, Dr. Noorjehan Safia Niaz and Zakia Soman, co-founders of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan filed a PIL against the order. Recently on August 26, 2016, Bombay High Court passed the verdict that “Women be permitted to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the Haji Ali Dargah at par with men”. Following some more repartees, the Haji Ali Management has now come to the point of lifting the ban.