Now that the Bombay High Court has upheld the right of women to enter the sanctum sanctorum of Mumbai’s popular Haji Ali dargah, what do other dargahs in the city feel about it? A survey carried out by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), the petitioners in the case, showed that 12 out of 19 dargahs in Mumbai allowed women right up to the mazaar (grave) of the saint. After the judgment, will the remaining seven also do so?
That’s the logical question, but despite every newspaper and TV channel putting the High Court judgment on page one and on primetime, no one cared to find out. The press coverage remained confined to the specific tussle between the Haji Ali dargah trustees and the BMMA.
This was an important fight, and the judgment showed why. The judges didn’t view it simply as a women’s rights vs religious rights contest. The judgment first deals with the religious aspect of the issue. It considers the faith-based arguments given by the Trust, and concludes that these arguments do not support the Trust’s contention that allowing women into the sanctum sanctorum is sinful in Islam.
The judgment makes an important finding: “It cannot be said that the prohibition is an essential and integral part of Islam and fundamental to follow the religious belief; and taking away that part of the practice would result in a fundamental change in the character of that religion or its belief…’’. Only theIndian Express quoted this part of the judgment in its main report.
