Bombay High Court allows women's entry in Mumbai's Haji Ali dargah

MUMBAI: In a landmark verdict, the Bombay High Court on Friday allowed women to enter the inner sanctum of Mumbai's Haji Ali Dargah. While pronouncing its judgement on the plea filed by a women’s group challenging the ban on entry of women inside the inner sanctorum of the Dargah, the High Court said that the ban imposed on women is contrary to the fundamental rights of a person as provided in Constitution. "The High Court in its judgement said that the ban on women's entry the inner sanctum is unconstitutional," Raju More, petitioner's lawyer, said. The Dargah trust said that they will approach the Supreme Court against the verdict. "We are very happy, this is a great step towards justice for Muslim women," Zakia Soman, one of the petitioners who filed the public interest litigation (PIL) against the ban, said. Bhumata Brigade chief and activist Trupti Desai, who had recently successfully led campaigns to break bar on women at the sanctum sanctorum of Shani Shingnapur and Trimbakeshwar temples, called the HC's verdict as "historic". "This is a historic decision, we welcome the High Court's order, it's a huge victory for women," Desai said. The plea was filed on June 28. Zakia Soman and Noorjehan Niaz had filed the public interest litigation (PIL), which stated that gender justice was inherent in Quran and the decision contravened the Hadiths, which stated there was no prohibition on women visiting graves.