Rally held in Mumbai over women being barred from places of worship

A number of organizations in Mumbai cutting across religious lines held a march to demand equal right of access to places of worship at the Azad Maidan yesterday This is a hot button topic given the recent controversy it has evoked Originally this was supposed to be a march from Bycullarsquos Saboo Siddik College to Azad Maidan But police permission was not obtained and it was restricted to sloganeering at the Azad Maidan ldquoIt is a celebration rather than a protest march Womenrsquos Day is all about celebrating who we are and what we representrdquo said Noorjehan Safia Niaz from Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan one of the organisers of the eventHolding evocative placards the women cutting across all religious lines raised a rallying cry for equal access PicsPradeep DhivarAt least 70 women braved the scorching afternoon heat sitting patiently on floor mats at the Maidan to call attention to their cause allowing them into places of worship just like men are A smattering of womenrsquos organizations shared their work and their thoughts on womenrsquos rights to religious places There were a number of men too in the gathering to extend their supportThe gathering braved the sweltering heat to make their pointBanners read lsquoWe stand with Trupti Desairsquo Trupti Desai has become the poster girl of the womenrsquos right to access religious places movement Desai was detained yesterday morning while on her way to Trimbakeshwar temple and then released Fatima Sheikh who was at Azad Maidan said ldquoWomen have been deemed dirty and so they are not allowed access to religious places be it mosques or temples Our sister Trupti Desai was detained by the police and we are all here to extend our supportrdquoInsia Dariwala from Sahiyo an NGO which stands against female genital mutilation in the Bohra Muslim community said ldquoThe meaning of our name is friend The women who have organised this are all friends I hope Trupti wins in her fight we are all supporting each other for the right of women to various things Our community is one of the most progressive when it comes to education and yet this practice of mutilation is still practised It needs to stop as it violates human rightsrdquoActivist Jyoti Badekar who was also one of the organisers said ldquoDonations from women are happily accepted at religious places but their touch is impure Menstruation is something that God has made how can it be dirty A woman brings a child into the world and takes care of it she can do anything These religious rituals are backward we stand with Trupti Desai and no one can stop us from getting equality God has made us equal man cannot restrict thisJodha Kansara a Chartered Accountant CA had taken a day off from work to attend the rally The Dombivali resident says ldquoIn our house whenever I or my sisters are menstruating the household mandir is covered in a red cloth I have come here to stand up against these practices I have managed to make my parents understand that God is more than all these ritualsrdquoFashion designer Mehrunissa Imam who was at the protest said ldquoI have heard various crazy suggestions of why women are not allowed into Haji Ali I am here to discover what it is to be a woman and to stand in solidarity with those who want equality If God sees me even I want to see love and worship him freelyrdquoIn the end it was evident that women have a long tough road ahead when it comes to access We saw outdated notions still practised in homes not just public spacesAs chants of Aaj ki naari kaise hai kaise hai filled the air the answer aaj ki naari phool nahi chingari hai resounded underlining the combative nature of the event