Supreme Courts rules in favour of Parsi women in Inter-faith marriages

Yesterday brought the first victory for Parsi women who marry outside the religion only to be barred from entering the communitys places of worship This victory comes in the form of Goolrokh Gupta neacutee Contractor a Parsi woman who married a Hindu man who was yesterday granted the right to attend the last rites for family members when the need arisesGoolrokh Gupta nee Contractor and her sister Shiraz Contractor Patodia right have both been granted interim permission to attend last rites of family membersWhile this is a landmark moment for the community it is only a partial victory The Supreme Court is yet to decide on the larger issue of the ban on women who marry outside the faith A fivejudge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra is hearing the case In Thursdays hearing the Valsad Parsi Anjuman Trust agreed in court as an interim measure to allow Goolrokh to join the funeral and fourday afterdeath prayers performed in the funeral parlour of the doongerwadi The next hearing will take place on January 17In 2012 the Gujarat High Court had said that Goolrokh ceased to be a Parsi when she married outside her faith under the Special Marriages Act Goolrokh a resident of Mahalaxmi says the SCs interim order has proved to be really encouraging and that the road ahead now looks more hopefulThis is a step in the right direction said Goolrokh adding We were really disappointed by the Gujarat High Court judgement Thats why we approached the Supreme Court Justice delayed is not justice denied We are fighting so that all the rights that Parsi Zoroastrian men get ndash even if they marry outside their faith ndash should also be given to the women Men are allowed to enter Aatash Behrams fire temples and conduct the funeral rites of their parents and relatives at the Tower of Silence We should also get to do the sameGujarat trustees do dadagiriGoolrokh went on to describe how in cities outside Gujarat Parsi women are allowed to enter fire temples and take part in rituals but it was only in Gujarat especially small towns like Valsad where the trustees do their dadagiriIt is in the smaller towns that trustees deny these rights to Parsi women in interfaith marriages If it is a question of religion and custom then it should be uniform and equal everywhere across all cities Jabalpur Calcutta Kanpur Baroda mdash they all allow Parsi women in interfaith marriages to come enter temples and perform the rituals she saidEarlier even in Valsad women who were married outside their faith were allowed to do the same It is only after 2003 when the new trustees came in that they stopped allowing us according to their whims and fancy For men they kept the same rules But rules should be equal for men and women the 51yearold emphasisedMumbais concessionGoolrokh pointed out that in Mumbai a Parsi woman married outside her faith can give an affidavit to the Parsi Panchayat stating that she is not converting and will continue to practice Zoroastrian faith even after marriage In Gujarat there is no such consideration of any affidavit If youre not married to a Parsi youre out she said adding The road ahead looks very hopeful when you get an interim order like this We are looking at a positive change in the future one that will make sure that we get our rightsSister saysShiraz Contractor Patodia Goolrokhs elder sister and also her senior counsel appeared in the apex court for yesterdays hearing on behalf of her sister The interim order is very good Suppose something were to happen to our parents we will at least be right there next to them when the last rites are performed Nobody can throw us out from he ceremony The rest of the prayers in our petition will be heard during the January 17 hearing I am 200 optimistic that the SC will grant relief