Haji Ali Trust finally concedes, says women can enter inner shrine in 4 weeks

The Haji Ali Trust told SC that the access route for women to inner sanctum will be ready in two weeks.

In a landmark victory for female worshippers who are still barred from some of India’s holy places, the Supreme Court on Monday said women will be allowed to enter Mumbai's iconic Haji Ali Dargah in a month.

The Haji Ali Trust informed the apex court that the  access route for women to inner sanctum will be ready in two weeks.

On August 26, the Bombay High Court lifted the ban imposed on women from entering the inner sanctum of Mumbai's Haji Ali Dargah. However, the Haji Ali Trust had challenged the verdict in court and had taken up the matter with the Supreme Court. 

Noorjehan Fiaz and Zakia Soman, founders of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), had petitioned the Bombay High Court against the ban calling it unconstitutional.

The 2011 ban violates the women's right to freedom of religion enshrined in Article 25 of the constitution.

The PIL stated that gender justice is inherent in the Quran, and there is no prohibition on women visiting graves.

Prior to 2011, the Dargah did not discriminate against women and allowed free entry of people across religions. On March 2011, the Dargah's board of trustees imposed a ban on women's entry, calling it a "grievous sin". It is a sin as per Islam for women to be in close proximity of a male Muslim saint's grave.

On Jul 10, 2015, Bench headed by Justice VM Kanade sets aside previous order framing eight questions by an earlier bench of HC on maintainability and decided to hear PIL on merits.

Earlier this year, Muslim women across Mumbai staged protests to lift the ban against women's entry in the Dargah. They demanded that women should be allowed to pray in the sanctum of the famous shrine, but the clerics called their demands "un-Islamic".