At around 6 am last week, 31-year-old Trupti Desai led a group of women into the premises of Mumbai’s Haji Ali Dargah, where she had earlier been refused entry, but steered clear of the sanctum sanctorum, where women have traditionally been barred from entering but men continue to have unhindered access to the actual burial ground of Sayed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari.
Emerging from the entrance earmarked for women, amid tight security, Desai said, “I prayed that women be allowed to enter the inner sanctum.”
The demand for equal access to Haji Ali Dargah first surfaced in August 2014, when members of Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan decided to file a public interest litigation at the Bombay High Court against “the blatant discrimination on grounds of gender alone”.
Over the past few months, Desai has led a campaign against the banning of women from entering several religious shrines and temples across the country. Her diligence even led to the lifting of a 400-year-old custom at the Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra in March this year. After Desai’s successful campaign at the temple, social activists from Mumbai, identifying as Haji Ali Sab Ke Liye (Haji Ali for All), decided to launch a similar campaign.
Desai’s last visit to Haji Ali Dargah on April 28 ended in an uncontrolled scuffle with law enforcement officials, after locals objected to her wanting to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine. After being compelled to leave, Desai alleged that the mob had tried to break into her car and physically assault her while the police failed to follow protocol. The dargah remained shut for the public the following day.
“I have given my support to the agitation launched by activists here. However, I have an aggressive style of approaching issues. I would like to state that if the trustees do not relent on their stand in the next 15 days, the Bhumata Brigade will launch an aggressive agitation to get equal rights for women,” she had said.
Desai has received threats from various quarters ever since she started championing for women’s rights at Haji Ali Dargah. A member of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen warned that her face would be smeared with black ink if she entered the sanctum sanctorum of the dargah while Shiv Sena leader Haji Arafat Shaikh said she would be hit with slippers.
After her failed attempt on April 28, Desai said she would seek help from Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who too has voiced support for equal rights of women at places of worship.
Haji Ali Dargah is a 585-year-old shrine, located on an islet off Mumbai coast. As recently as in 2011, trustees decided to restrict access for women to the burial site, calling the practice un-Islamic. Entry to the main hall of the shrine continues to be segregated for men and women. While men enter the dargah from the south and have no limitations, women enter from the east and are allowed only to a particular point, approximately 275 feet from the tomb, where they can pray but not touch anything.
Photo Credits: Mobsea
