Women basically have to fight for everything they deserve to have as a right. Faith is said to be one of the most personal aspects for an individual. Yet, Islam is infamous for the discrimination and the way it treats men and women.
In a move which looks like making history, on Eid, hundreds of women gathered in Lucknow’s Aishbagh Eidgah. Even though they had a separate enclosure to offer namaaz, it was their first time to enter the premises.
Islam tends to have a bias against women in its religious laws. To defy that, Imam Maulana Khalid Firangi Mahali confessed why they granted this permission:
“We want to tell them that we are not against any right that is granted to women by Islam. We wanted the get rid of the misconception that the Muslim clergy was biased against women.”
Zakia Soman, the co-founder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, explained how ironic it is because the ‘Quran’ nowhere states that women should be barred from entering mosques or offering prayers.
“For the first time women were allowed to enter the mosques in Lucknow. The women are offering prayers there. It’s a matter of great happiness. We had started the movement so that the Muslim women get this right. We want equality in temples, mosques and Dargah. This is a very big change. It will be a very big historical beginning,” says activist Trupti Desai.
Until last year, there was a small space allotted to women where only 50 could be accommodated. This year, special provisions were made and a separate hall for a capacity of 7,000 was allocated for women namazi.
This move is a brilliant first step towards the fight for equality not just for Muslim women but for all of us who are either bashed up for entering a Shani mandir or touching pickle during menstruation.
Source: Hindustan Times