Muslim women to move court for entry to mosques

New Delhi: Prophet Muhammad said, “Do not take away the shade of mosque of the women.” A group of Muslim women has decided to move the Supreme Court demanding entry into all mosques in the country. The petition is expected to be filed on Monday, the advocate for the petitioners, K.V. Dhananjay, told The Telegraph from Bangalore. The move comes at a time groups of Hindu women are calling for an end to the ban on their entry into select temples, such as the Ayyappa temple in Kerala and the Trimbakeshwar and Shani temples in Maharashtra. A petition against the bans is pending in the Supreme Court on behalf of Hindu women. The petition by the Muslim women, a copy of which is with this paper, asks that every mosque that receives monetary aid from the government be prohibited from discriminating against women. According to the counsel, Article 15 of the Constitution clearly prohibits discrimination by the government on the basis of sex. “Religious bodies that ask for and receive taxpayers’ money from the government are also subject to this condition imposed by our Constitution,” he said. “It is very unfortunate that not a single political party or a chief minister, women included, has thought of advancing the interest of Muslim women by providing them with access to mosques that receive monetary aid from taxpayers’ money. It is because of such failure that a need has arisen for Muslim women from several states to approach the Supreme Court,” Dhananjay added. Women are allowed to enter mosques that have a separate space for them, but most mosques in India do not. Socially, Indian women are not encouraged to regularly pray at mosques even if they do have separate enclosures. Most women visiting the Jama Masjid, for instance, would be Muslim tourists in Delhi rather than residents of the capital. Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari, Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid in Delhi, said there was no ban on Muslim women entering a mosque. “Islam gives permission for women to enter and pray inside,” the imam of India’s largest mosque said. He, however, blamed male chauvinists in the community for barring women inside many smaller mosques. “Traditionally, these local committees have never allowed women to enter mosques,” he said.   The Telegraph