Haji Ali, Shani Shingnapur and Trimbakeshwar: Indian women reclaim religious places

Shani Shingnapur temple

Earlier in April, another place of worship in Maharashtra had to open its doors to women. The Shani Shingnapur temple, that had barred women from entering its core area for over 400 years, allowed women activists to pray inside the temple after much resistance. While religious leaders like Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati condemned the decision, the move came as a huge breakthrough in securing women’s rights to public and religious places.

Read | Haji Ali dargah will have to open doors for women after Bombay High Court ruling

Trimbakeshwar Shiva temple

Another case in point, is the Trimbakeshwar temple in Nashik that decided to allow men and women to pray inside the inner sanctum of the temple. However, temple trustees said that women would only be allowed for an hour everyday if they wore ‘wet cotton or silk clothes while offering prayers in the core area.’ The move was widely criticised by members of civil society.

Eidgah Aishbagh, Lucknow

In July, Lucknow’s famous Eidgah Aishbagh allowed hundreds of women to offer their Eid-ul-Fitr prayer inside the Eidgah. Authorities had built a separate enclosure for the women to offer Eid prayers. Reports suggest that two entry-points were marked for the men and women so that “women are not required to struggle due to the rush.” While Muslim leaders claimed that the practice of women praying in the Eidgah was not entirely new, they admitted to extending the space allotted for their prayers. According to a Hindustan Times report, Shaista Ambar of All India Muslim Personal Law Board had a mosque built in the state capital to make women more comfortable and offer prayers freely.

Read | Haji Ali dargah and entry of women: All your questions answered

While the country might be witnessing a wave of changes in this sphere, temples like Sabarimala are fighting head-on to uphold the atavistic traditions in the name of religion. The famous temple in Kerala has banned women of menstruating age to enter the temple premises and offer their prayers. CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan believes that the ban “was an echo of an outdated class system which was keen to retain male dominance  in the society and discriminate women from public space and  places of worship.”