Women Will be Allowed to Enter Inner Sanctum: Haji Ali Trust to SC

Supreme Court has granted 4-weeks’ time to the Dargah trust to make requisite changes for granting access to women.

Haji Ali Dargah is one of the most popular shrines in Mumbai. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@Prihemahd)

In a landmark victory for women, who still face restrictions at places of worship, Mumbai’s Haji Ali Trust has conceded and told Supreme Court that it’s ready to implement the High Court directions and will grant access to women at par with men.

The trust said that women will be allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum. The apex court has granted four-weeks’ time to the Dargah trust to make requisite infrastructural changes for granting access to women.

In the Haji Ali case, the Hight Court had said an entry ban violated women’s fundamental rights and asked the state to ensure protection for female devotees.

The decision had come on a petition by a Muslim women’s foundation that asked the court to restore the shrine’s regulations to 2012, when women were allowed into the sanctum sanctorum, albeit through separate queues and at restricted timings.

(With inputs from PTI)