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A Muslim couple from Maharashtra moved the Supreme Court seeking the right for women to pray at mosques.
The petition, which refers to the top court’s September judgment on Sabarimala, says Muslim women have the right to worship in mosques. To be sure, there is no explicit ban on women worshipping in mosques, although it isn’t generally encouraged. Not all mosques also have a separate space for women to pray.
The petition said that there should not be any gender discrimination at all, and that all Muslim women should be allowed to pray in all mosques, cutting across denominations. The petitioners said that there were no records stating that the Quran and Prophet Muhammad opposed women entering mosques and offering prayers.
According to the petitioners, Yasmin Zuber Ahmad Peerzade and Zuber Ahmad Nazir Ahmad Peerzade, there are no records stating that the Holy Quran and Prophet Muhammad opposed women from entering mosques and offering prayers.
The petition under Article 32 is based on last year’s judgment in the Sabarimala case where it was held that “religion cannot be used as cover to deny rights or worship to women and a prohibition on women to offer prayers is against human dignity.” “Prohibition on women is due to non-religious reasons and it’s a grim shadow of discrimination going on for centuries,” read the petition.
The petitioners have given their own example to justify their demand. According to them, they requested the Jama Masjid inPune to let the wife enter the mosque. In response the couple was told that women were not permitted to offer prayers in the mosque in Pune and other areas. The Imam, however, said he would write to higher authorities for considering the petitioners’ request and requisite directions.
The practice followed in Mecca, where Muslims go for Haj pilgrimage, has also been cited by the couple in support of the prayer made. At Mecca the faithful, both women and men, together circle Kaaba. “The most sacred mosques in the world embrace both men and women,” the petitioners said.
In Islam, there is no ban on the entry of women in mosques and Muslim women are not barred from offering prayers in the mosques. In fact even in the holiest of the places of Mecca and Madina, women offer prayers in the mosque, said ZarfaryabJilani of All India Muslim Personal law Board.
The Petitioners submitted that women are never allowed inside Sunni mosques to pray and they, too, have the right. Women were allowed to enter mosques even during the time of the Prophet. "Muslim women are being 'discriminated' as they are not allowed to enter and pray in the main prayer hall of mosques in violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. This is an encroachment into the realm of personal liberty and social security". The petitioners also submitted that the most sacred mosque in the world for Muslims embraces both men and women.
The petitioners have quoted the following observations from the Constitution Bench Judgment in the Sabarimala Case to support the claim. "Religion cannot be used as cover to deny rights of worship to women and it is also against human dignity. Prohibition on women is due to non-religious reasons and it is a grim shadow of discrimination going on for centuries".Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice on a Writ Petition seeking to declare the practices of prohibition of entry of Muslim Women in Mosque in India as illegal, unconstitutional for being violative of Articles 14, 15, 21, 25 and 29 of the Constitution. The notices have been issued to the Central Government, Waqf Board and All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
While considering the matter for admission, Justice S A Bobde, who headed the bench, asked whether fundamental right to equality could be enforced against non-state actors. "The only reason we may hear you is because of our judgment in Sabarimala case", remarked Justice Bobde.
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