India: Jama Masjid rolls back order telling women to be accompanied by relatives for entering
Jama Masjid
The administration of India's largest mosque, Jama Masjid in Delhi, has rolled back an earlier order prohibiting entry to women and girls who are not accompanied by relatives. The move had faced criticism, and the mosque has now claimed it was only intended to stop "obscene activities" in the premises.
Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, told ANI news agency that they had observed several instances over the previous few days where women and girls were engaging in "obscene activities with men" inside the mosque. As a result, the masjid's committee decided to post a notice outside the entry gates stating that "women who aren't accompanied by their family members or are alone are not allowed inside the mosque." On Thursday, someone discovered the warning that had been posted a few days earlier.
Unaccompanied women frequently meet men within the mosque and have a tendency to "act improperly" and "wait for their dates," the masjid had stated, while those who arrive with family members are allowed entry.
Following the announcement, Delhi Lieutenant-General V.K. Saxena got in touch with Shahi Imam Bukhari and asked him to revoke the directive. Both the National Commission for Women and the Delhi Commission for Women strongly condemned the ruling and demanded that the necessary steps be taken.
Shahi Imam Bukhari said: “The mosque is a place of worship and not for couples who do improper activities. We do not have any issues with couples coming here but they should only come here to offernamaz. I spoke to L.G. Saxena and our administration has decided to take back the order. We only issued it to preserve the sanctity of the mosque. Hereon, whenever we see a couple indulging in such activities, we will counsel them and call their parents to instruct them to not do so. The masjid administration does not want to prevent anyone from worshipping”.
(With inputs from agencies)
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