Guwahati, Dec 10: It was during her graduation days in Guwahati, when Rashida Tapadar lamented over not being able to have easy access to a proper iftar during Ramzan. Unlike the men, she did not have the privilege of going to the mosque to break her fast and offer namaz, as there is no provision for women in mosques. Devoid of any proper place to go when the hour for iftar comes, she was forced to break her fast with whatever was available in her PG accommodation. A decade later she is now part of a Muslim women group which is pushing for dedicated spaces for women in mosques across India.
Explaining the rationale behind the initiative, Rashida, who is a writer and founder of Habitat for Women in Asia (HAWA) and originally hails from Barak Valley in Assam said that the idea piqued her curiosity when she did not find the States of Northeast in the 'Muslim Women Masjid Project' undertaken by a women's collective- Muslim Women Study Circle (MWSC).
"I came across the MWSC in 2021, the 'women in masjid' campaign intrigued me, but I was disappointed when I did not find any participants from the North-eastern States in the movement. I took it on my shoulders and moved ahead," said Rashida who is a core member of the group.
Founded by Sania Mariam, the MWSC is a space where Muslim women from different backgrounds engage with each other through discussions, debates, and consensus-building on religious and social matters. The group planned a nationwide movement to offer Jumu'ah Namaz (Friday prayers) in mosques across 15 cities. With an aim to have more women-friendly mosques all over India, the group has been instrumental in documenting masjids which has provisions for women across India.
MWSC has launched the 'Women in Masjid' campaign in Guwahati, Dimapur, Jamshedpur, Bengaluru, Saharanpur, Kolkata, Purnea, Agra, Berhampore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Srinagar and Aligarh in addition to Nagpur and Mumbai.
Mosques identified as friendly to women have been profiled through the personal experiences of these women who entered into conversations with imams and management to allow them entry in the mosques.
On 4th November, the Muslim women community gathered to pray the congregational prayer on Friday all over India. This initiative was first attempted on December 6 last year. Rashida, along with her acquaintances, offered the prayers in 2021 at the Burha Jame Masjid in Guwahati which has a small provision for the women. However, this year she attempted at her hometown in Dimapur, Nagaland. Although women were steadfast in reclaiming space in the mosque, they met with an unprecedented fate. They were not allowed in the masjid but that did not deter them from practising their religion.
Sharing about her experience with MWSC, Rashida asserted, "In Nagaland, the concept of women going to a mosque is unheard of. Consequentially, there are exceptionally beautiful, old, historically important mosques here which unfortunately we (the women) have never been into. In order to participate with 14 other cities, we decided to submit written appeals in the format of a memorandum to mosques and an important NGO here which primarily works for the Muslim community and its development. Despite writing and speaking to the authorities we did not get any written reply from anyone which meant that they are not willing to right away make arrangements for us. Not willing to miss out on a nationwide participation of Muslim women to reclaim our presence and space in mosques, we decided to offer namaz together in a flat of a residential complex of our neighbourhood. We also gathered post namaz to discuss our feelings of exclusion and rejection in our own community, ignorant ideas prevailing in our community about the presence of women in mosques."
In Islam, mosque is considered to be an important centre of learning and plays an important role in the spiritual and social life of the Muslim community, which includes both men and women. It is therefore, for all to use and benefit from. In fact, when Muslims go to Mecca and Medina for Hajj and Umrah, both men and women pray at Haram Sharif in Mecca and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina. Even in several countries and also in some mosques in India there is no ban on women coming to the masjid for prayers. Still there is a prejudice when it comes to women in India.
"Mosque can become an important point for the community especially for women, widows, disadvantaged groups where they can seek support and share their concerns. It is not just a religious issue, if we see it from the religion prism it would be wrong because institutions like this should be a huge support. Even though people realise that there is need for such institutions, but they don't have the courage to speak out because of the backlash they face," Rashida added.
Nurul Islam Laskar, a motivational speaker and media person while speaking about the issue said, "When Sir Syed Ahmed started the Aligarh Movement in the later part of nineteenth century and wanted Muslims to study English, many in the Muslim society called him an infidel. Today we all realise the significance of Sir Syed's contribution to the society and how wrong a portion of our society was in building barricades on his way. The same applies to the issue of granting space to the Indian Muslim women in mosques. A portion of the society panics at the thought but the sooner they realise their mistake the better it is. Five daily prayers are compulsory for a Muslim, both man and woman. For a Muslim man it is very easy to enter a mosque, wherever he is, and perform the prayer. Today, when more and more Muslim women are coming out of their houses to study or work in different institutions, it is so difficult for them to find a mosque/place where they can offer their prayers."
Rashida who frequently travels due to work does not find it difficult to pray in other parts of the country, "Everywhere I go in different states like Kolkata or Delhi, I have seen women going to mosque but it's not a common scenario here in northeast, especially in Dimapur or in Assam, but in other states it is quite common. Moreover, women are not even aware that there are special places for women in mosques."
Meanwhile, Laskar who visited Saudi Arabia, USA and other countries, has witnessed women offering namaz along with the menfolk in the same mosque, or they have separate mosques exclusively for women. "It's time the Indian Muslim society makes it easy for their women to offer namaz with ease when they are outside their homes," added Laskar.
The Assam Tribune reached out to a few Islamic scholars to understand the matter, however, they were not immediately available for comment.
While the women group has embarked on the journey to reclaim their rights, some of the mosques which have provisions for women are not well maintained, Rashida informed that in Guwahati, the Lakhtokia Masjid is very well maintained, however, the Burha Jame Masjid is not up to the mark. "We can also raise funds to improve the infrastructure of the mosques. The feeling of praying in congregation was different and very new. Women in our country pray at home which has its own benefits. However we should also talk about necessities. Women should be in mosque not just for congregation prayers, but to build a community and invoke togetherness," asserted Rashida.
While speaking about the future aspects of the movement, Rashida informed that the movement will be amplified and instead of a yearly affair, the women group will offer namaz in congregation every month. The MWSC which has representatives from different States, will now be decentralised district-wise to reach out to more women from the community. The group is also trying to document and create a database across India with mosques which are women friendly.
The azaan is a general invitation to both men and women for prayers, reminding the faithful, 'Come for prayer, come for success'. Prayer and fasting are also among the five pillars of Islam, which is fard (a religious obligation or duty) upon the Muslims. "Muslim women status is very debatable and then we don't have any kind of discussion, it is pertinent for us to explore the perception of Islam about women," Rashida concluded.
