Haji Ali verdict: Written in holy books, the ‘divine message’ must not be played with, say most women at dargah

Devotees enter the dargah on Friday. (Source: Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)

The Court may have paved the way for women to enter the inner sanctum sanctorum of Haji Ali dargah but it may take much more time and effort for women, who regularly visit the dargah, to accept the ruling. The women who had come to the shrine of Sayyed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari on Friday, hours after the judgment, mostly were not aware about the ruling. When informed, most of them spoke against the court order.

They were mainly opposed to allowing women inside the Asthana — the actual spot where the saint is buried — claiming that the Quran and Hadith are against it. Some, meanwhile, blamed the “impurity women go through” as the reason for them being barred from entry to the sanctum sanctorum.

Shabana Qadri from Madhya Pradesh, in her 40s said that going by their tradition, women should not be allowed inside. “Women should definitely not be allowed inside. It is written in our holy books and is a divine message. It should not be played around with,” Qadri said.

Raahat Aapa, a Mahim resident in her 50s, comes to the dargah at least once a month. “It is a rule in Shariah that women are not allowed inside graveyards. That same logic is extended here. I don’t know why they insisted that women be allowed here.” she told The Indian Express.

Shaukat Bi, who visited the shrine with her husband and children said, “A saint’s shrine should be pure. Sometimes women can get impure. These are naturally occuring things so one cannot say when a woman will become impure.”

Several other women who had come to the dargah said that women should not be allowed inside the shrine.  “Galat hain” is all they said, refusing to give a reason for it.