Miss Alone
Prime VIP
A group of 60 women and social activists will enter the inner sanctum of Haji Ali shrine today at 3 pm. Noorjahan Safia Niaz, co-convener of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), along with other group members, will visit the shrine of a 14th-century saint, Sayed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari.
In 2011, the trustees of the Haji Ali Dargah had decided to deny women access to the grave. Noorjehan was stopped while she tried going into the sanctum of the shrine in June 2012.
The BMMA filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Bombay High Court in August 2014 against the “blatant discrimination on the ground of gender alone” and asked the state to ensure that access to the inner sanctum was restored.
In August 2016, HC allowed the entry of women into the sanctum of the shrine and said that the shrine trust has no power to alter or modify the mode or manner of religious practices of any individual or any group.
However, on October 3, the trust moved Supreme Court challenging the Bombay HC verdict.
On October 24, 2016, SC ruled that women should be allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine.
