Was the patriarch doomed? Haji Ali is an epitome of faith which now faces the harsh reality of equality. Mumbai considered as the most vibrant metropolitan and liberal city has supported the chorus.
Mumbai High Court’s decision to allow women in the Haji Ali mosque has now heralded a new course for the worshipers. It was the scriptures that somehow categorised unintentionally and espoused the divide with respect to the right to pray.
Religion actually flourished due to the acts of banishing and punishing. Women can cognitively feel the freedom of faith at this moment, but the real change is yet to be seen inside the court, where hierarchal and patriarchy still rules the roost.
Kudos to the Muslim Mahila Andolan whose PIL resulted in this historic ruling. The Maharashtrian brigade, led by Trupti Desai, also feels elated for this breakthrough. They somehow challenged the status quo and won the little battle of feminism and the big war of existence.
Keeping Pace with the Changing Time
The places of worship where the line of control was chalked out is now blurring. Shani Shingnapur temple opened its doors to women, Sabrimala is still thinking about it, and Haji Ali will now have to open its gates and peacefully abide by the changing times. But we should also remember that in this land, rituals and traditions have undergone a gradual change.
Raja Rammohan Roy’s Bramho Sabha movement was against Sati, polygamy, child marriages and caste rigidity. He was instrumental in abolishing the Sati tradition, where a widow has to burn herself along with the deceased husband. And our great Bapu has changed the perception of Dalits by naming them Harijan. Bharat Ratna DK Karve fought until his last breath for the rights of women and the right for widows to remarry.
Women today surely have made their presence felt in every space, a woman rail driver instills a great amount of confidence in the society. She has become more assertive, at home she may play the role of a housewife, but now she decides the menu and school for her ward. She is always multitasking and managing the life of many with utmost care.
By law, she must now be on the board of companies and since 2014 it’s only increasing as family ladies rule the roost. The signs in society by framing new rules and evolving equality on papers, have somehow created a sense of solid identity. She adorns many hats and is still struggling at many levels. The policy for harassment still haunts her, as she may become the talk of the town, especially if she is a whistle-blower.
Faith Based on Logical Conclusions
Temples, mosques, gurudwara and churches are often run by few age-old beliefs and practices. The centralised religions also face problems which the decentralised Hindu religion is facing.
Exploitation, donation scams, land grabbing, hierarchy and power practices are common to faith due to the involvement of money at the core. The traditions, which make them biased and superstitious were formed way back and are still being followed -this has created a stir.
Somehow the institutions of democracy christened the population with common rights, and now faith-related matters are moving to courts. The good thing is that places of worship would have to follow the ruling. Faith has now become a matter of logical conclusions due to social and cultural changes. Let’s hope time will decide what is best for the gods.
(The writer is a former TV journalist and member, International Association of Religion. He can be reached at @MeBhavya. This is a personal blog and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
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