Women Should Be Allowed Entry In Haji Ali : Maharashtra Government

We have renewed respect for Maharashtra Government for standing their ground on the issue of allowing women in the Haji Ali Dargah, a famous landmark of Mumbai. Amid the raging debate over ban on females' entry into certain religious places across the country, the Maharashtra Government on Tuesday supported the entry of women in Haji Ali Dargah.

Also Read: Not Just Haji Ali, Many Other Places Ban Women From Entering

The government told the Bombay High Court that the entry of women cannot be prohibited into the shrine. In India, for centuries with have had some bizarre notions of equality particularly with respect to women in religious places; they have often termed 'impure' because they go through menstruation and are often barred by families from being in groups, eating on certain days and more.

In the last few months women from different parts of the country have come together to protest archaic thinking and silly laws that force women to stay out of the inner sanctums of temples and shrines. Hundreds of women had protested outside Shani Shingnapur Temple, while Muslim women groups protested against restriction on their entry into the inner sanctum of Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai.

The Mumbai High Court had asked the Devandra Fadnavis-led government earlier this month to give its opinion on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the decision of Haji Ali Trust to ban the entry of women in the sanctum sanctorum of the dargah.

"Indian culture and Hindu religion gives women the right to pray. A change in yesterday's traditions is our culture. Discrimination in praying is not in our culture. The temple authorities should resolve the issue through a dialogue." he had tweeted.