Women rights activist Trupti Desai to enter Haji Ali Dargah today

Mangalore Today News Network

Pune, Dec 03, 2016:  Bhumata Brigade activist Trupti Desai along with several others are all set to enter the inner sanctum of the Haji Ali Dargah on Saturday, days after a group of around 100 women and social activists entered the holy place.

Confirming the report, Desai told ANI, "It’s a historic victory for the movement. Our demand was not wrong. We were not against any religion. We will be entering Haji Ali today. It was a historic victory for women and I am sure there will be no problem."

After a series of legal battles that lasted for five years, the women activists entered the sanctum sanctorum of Haji Ali Dargah on November 29.

On October 29, the Haji Ali Dargah told the Supreme Court that it was ready to implement the Bombay High Court’s order to allow women to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine located in South Mumbai and had sought four weeks for infrastructural changes to make arrangements for it.

Prior to 2011, the dargah did not discriminate against women and allowed free entry of people across religions. however, in March 2011, the dargah’s board of trustees imposed a ban on women’s entry calling it a ’grievous sin’.

An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur heard the Haji Ali dargah Trust’s plea challenging the Bombay High Court’s ruling to provide equal rights of entry to both women and men in the dargah’s sanctum sanctorum.