HYDERABAD: Pointing out that the Holy Quran does not prevent women from entering prayer halls — except during specific periods considered a “rest period” by nature — the Telangana High Court on Tuesday upheld the right of women from the Akhbari sect of Shia Muslims to offer prayers at the Ibadat Khana, a mosque in Darulshifa, Hyderabad.
Citing verses 222 and 223 of Surah Al Baqarah, the second chapter of the Quran, Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka said in his order: “Nowhere in the Holy Book (Quran) the Almighty prohibits women from entering prayer halls to offer prayers.”
The judge also referenced the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in the Sabarimala case, which affirmed that women of menstruating ages cannot be barred from entering the temple in Kerala. Justice Bheemapaka noted that the issue was no longer open to question, given the Supreme Court’s judgement in the Indian Young Lawyers Association and others (Sabarimala temple, In Re) v. State of Kerala case.
The judge also pointed out that women from the Usooli sect of Shia Muslims had been allowed to pray at the mosque, as per a 2007 Waqf Board proceeding and found it discriminatory to prevent women from the Akhbari sect from doing the same. Referring to proceedings dated June 15, 2007, Justice Bheemapaka said that when the Waqf Board permitted Shia Muslim women to enter prayer halls, it was not known why women from the Akhbari Sect of the same community were prevented from entering the Ibadat Khana. “This itself manifests clear discrimination on the part of the respondents,” the judge said.
Earlier, the Anjumane Alavi Shia Imamia Ithna Ashari Akhbari Society petitioned the court, challenging the denial of access for Akhbari women to the Ibadat Khana for religious purposes, including Majlis and Jashans. The society sought the court’s intervention after multiple requests to the Telangana State Waqf Board went unanswered.
The Waqf Board had argued that religious sentiments and conventions should be respected, even though there was no explicit prohibition in the Quran on the entry of women into prayer halls. However, the court issued an interim order on December 11, 2023, directing that Akhbari women be allowed to pray at the mosque. This interim order was challenged by the mutawalli (caretaker) committee of the Ibadat Khana.