Entry of Women in Masjids - The Hindu - 06/12/22

Context:
Recently, the Jama Masjid in Delhi prohibited the entry of single women or women in groups inside the mosque premises and withdrew after the intervention of Lieutenant-Governor.
The authorities reasoned that some women fail to respect the sanctity of the place of worship, making videos etc.
Relevance:
GS1, GS2
About:
Islamic Law:
-The Quran, at no place prohibits women from going to mosques for prayers. Wherever the Quran talks of establishing prayer, it talks in gender neutral terms.
-Before the five daily prayers, a prayer call or azaan is pronounced. The azaan is a general invitation to both men and women for prayers, reminding the faithful, ‘Come for prayer, come for success’.

Global Scenario:
Across West Asia, there is no ban on women coming to the masjid for prayers. In the U.S. and Canada too, women access mosques for prayers, and even gather there for special Taraweeh prayers in Ramzan and lessons on religion.

National Scenario:
In India, only a handful of mosques maintained or owned by Jamaat-e-Islami and the Ahl-e-Hadith sect have provisions for women worshippers. Most mosques, while not expressly forbidding women’s entry in masjids, have no provision for women to do ablutions for prayer or a separate prayer zone for them.

Legal Issue behind the Ban:-
According to the Constitution of India, there is complete equality between men and women.
In the Haji Ali Dargah case too, the High Court quoted Articles 15, Article 16 and Article 25 of the Constitution to grant women the desired access to the dargah.