Trupti Desai enters Mumbai's Haji Ali dargah, but not the inner sanctum
Mumbai: Bhumata Brigade rights activist Trupti Desai, who is campaigning against ban on women entering religious places, entered the Haji Ali dargah in Mumbai on Thursday and offered prayers amid tight security.
"I went till the point where women were allowed to go. I prayed that women must be allowed to enter inner sanctum like they did before 2011," she said after coming out of dargah.
"The police were helpful this time. This is a fight for gender equality. We will try to visit the inner sanctum next time," she said.
Read: Trupti to lead nationwide struggle against temples that ban women entry
Desai also issued a warning to the trustees. “We saw till where we are allowed to go, and till where men go. In 15 days, the trustees should allow women into the dargah, else we will protest”.
#WATCH Trupti Desai & Bhumata Brigade members entering Haji Ali Dargah (Mumbai) today morning.https://t.co/o0nWIEgR22
— ANI (@ANI_news) May 12, 2016
On April 28, Desai and other activists were stopped from entering the dargah and were detained by the police before they could hold protests. While Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi and Shiv Sena leader Haji Arafat Sheikh were allowed inside the dargah.
Read: Trupti Desai detained by police, not allowed to protest at Haji Ali dargah
The Bhumata Brigade has been successful in gaining entry in three major temples in Maharashtra — Shani Shingnapur in Ahmednagar district, Ambadevi Temple in Kolhapur and Trimbakeshwar Temple in Nashik.
The struggle for entry began when an unidentified woman climbed the platform of Shani Shingnapur on November 29, 2015.
Read: Haji Ali row: AIMIM leader threatens to smear ink on Trupti Desai
The angry trustees and villagers allegedly washed and purified the temple complex. Following this move, the Bhumata Brigade took up the issue on December 20, 2015.
The Maharashtra government had, in February, favoured the entry of women into the Haji Ali dargah. The state government had then said before the Bombay HC that unless the dargah board is able to prove that a ban is part of their religious practice with reference to the Quran, women should be allowed to enter the sanctum sanctorum of Haji Ali.
Desai had also asked Bollywood actors Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan to lend support to their cause.
Read: Haji Ali row: Trupti Desai asks Salman, SRK, Aamir to lend support
