Mumbai: Marking a victory for the campaign for gender equality in places of worship, a group of women activists on Tuesday entered the sanctum sanctorum of Haji Ali Dargah and offered prayers.
The entry by members of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) into the mausoleum came more than a month after the Haji Ali Dargah Trust told the Supreme Court that it would allow women inside the inner sanctum. Women devotees’ entry into it was banned a few years ago.
“Around 400 women went to the dargah. We also offered a chaadar (shawl),” said Zakia Soman, co-founder of BMMA. She said the trustees were very courteous. “They offered us tea and spoke to us for some time. Their welcoming stand is a great moral victory.”