Women's group led by Trupti Desai to visit Haji Ali Dargah today

A women's group led by Bhumata Brigade activist Trupti Desai will visit the Haji Ali Dargah here today.

In a valuable judgment, the Bombay High Court had on Friday lifted the ban imposed on women from entering the sanctum sanctorum of the dargah.

The Haji Ali Dargah Trust imposed the ban in 2012 citing religious traditions. Authorities then defended the ban, saying that the entry of women in close proximity to the tomb of a male saint would be seen as a grievous sin in Islam.

The trust had claimed that separate arrangements have been made for women to walk up to a certain point from where they can offer prayers.

The ban is contrary to Articles 14, 15, 19 and 25 of the Constitution of India.

Earlier this year, women managed to break the gender bias and gained full access to the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.

The fight to allow women into the shrine, built on an islet, 500 metres from the coast, intensified following a petition in the Supreme Court demanding entry for women to the famous Sabarimala temple in Kerala.