‘Allow Women To Enter Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah,’ Female Law Students Move Delhi High Court

Seeking permission to allow entry of women into the sanctum of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia Dargah in the national capital, law students in Delhi have moved the High Court seeking directions to the Centre be given.

Outside the Dargah, there is a sign that reads the message that women aren’t allowed inside the sanctum. The public interest litigation (PIL) is likely to be heard next week by the HC. After failing to get any response to their appeals to the concerned authorities including Delhi police, the women students said they were forced to move the HC.

Advocate Kamlesh Kumar Mishra, who is representing the students has asked that the Centre, Government of Delhi, Shrine Trust, Delhi Police have to draft the guidelines allowing the entry of women. He added that the ban is unconstitutional. According to the petitioners, if women are allowed to enter Sabarimala, then why ban them from entering a dargah, that too in the national capital.

Apart from the Nizamuddin Dargah, there are several others which ban the entry of women. The New Indian Express quoted an excerpt from the PIL that read, “Nizamuddin Dargah by its very nature is a public place and prohibition of entry of anyone in a public place on the basis of gender is contrary to the framework of the Constitution of India.”