After a legal battle of years, today, women have got a permission to enter Haji Ali dargah.

Around 75 to 80 women from all over the country visited the dargah for prayers in the afternoon. One activist expressed her emotions saying, it would be a routine now, we have not informed dargah trust about it. We will pay our respect and come out.

Women were allowed to enter up to Mazar of the Muslim saint, Sayeed Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari but then women were stopped from entering it all of a sudden. The Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) and other groups challenged this action of the Haji Ali dargah.

As per the new order, all devotees will wait and pray by standing two meters away from the tomb. This drgah was built in 1431 in commemoration of Sayyed Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari of today’s Uzbekistan. At one point in life, he gave up all his assets and travelled whole world to finally get settled in the then Mumbai around 15th century.

He died during one of his pilgrimage to Mecca and the casket carrying his body miraculously was swept back to the shore of Worli and got stuck in the rocks there. His dargah is said to be constructed at the same spot.