Mumbai : The set of arguments and religious logic often given to keep women away from shrines and temples of all faiths seems to giving way under pressure from women crusading for their right under the constitution of India to have equal access to all places open to men without opposition from religious leaders. The fight that started at Sabarimala temple last year has snow balled into a new feminist movement for our country, where women are still fighting for their equal status in a patriarchal society.
At a time when religion is perspicaciously influencing politics, women leading the crusade have had to be careful while dealing with the political discourse of the same. While ruling and opposition parties always oppose each other’s stance on letting women entry, the situation changes post elections in most cases. A case in point being the Sabarimala temple fight where the ruling Congress party in the state defending the ban as it is a matter to be dwelled upon by religious heads and should not hurt religious sentiments. The Left led opposition supported the fight of women activists saying that ‘it is not fair to bar women from entrance into the temple’ but once again in power now the Left led government has been reluctant in endorsing its previously held belief in giving women equal rights.
The maximum impetus to the movement has come from Maharashtra where Bhumata Brigade along with Swarajya Mahila Sanghatan launched their right to pray fight last year at Shani shignapur (Ahmendnagar) and Trimbakehwar temple (Nashik). The movement turned violent, radicalsied even threatening in nature with neither the women nor the priests budging from their respective positions. After a year long drama and fight the women were welcomed inside the prohibited section of Trimbakeshwar temple where they offered prayers on April 21 this year. In a more diplomatic move the Shanishignapur temple has now restricted all men and women with the exception of priests from entering the inner sanctum.
The most effective conclusion to the recent Haji Ali PIL led verdict by Mumbai High court allowing women to offer prayers on the tomb of the sufi saint has added to the roar of women rights. While reverting back to the 145 year old tradition of women offering prayers alongside men the High court reprimanded the Haji Ali trust for imposing the ban five years ago as it could not prove in court how the presence of women near the tomb would harm and hinder Islamic practices. The trust had argued that it was seen as un Islamic for women to be in such close proximity of a male saints’s tomb. Support for the verdict has been flying in from all quarters of Islamic scholars as well with most of them stating that this verdict will allow women to participate as equals since early Islam did not discriminate against women and they have the right to pray without bias at the most holy Islamic shrine, the Mecca shrine thus ending the perception that women are considered unequal in Islam. “ we are women citizens of the country and are unapologetic for being muslim , these are two separate identities and we will fight hard to preserve both”, remarked Noorjehan Safia Niaz member of Bhartiya Mahila Morcha and one of the two women who filed the PIL in court.
The fight for equality is raging on but it will take a lot more to see a conclusion to the persisting viewpoints in our society which mostly deems it fit to let women suffer enough before they finally take matters into their own hands and strive for an equal role not just for themselves but for the future generations as well.
