Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday with men, women and children dressed in their best thronging mosques, shrines and Eidgahs across the state for special prayers to mark culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan.
For the first time, women offered namaaz at Aishbagh Eidgah for the first time in Lucknow on Thursday.
Welcoming the move, Former National Commission for Women member Shamina Shafiq said it is a very important thing if we talk about social inclusion of women into the mainstream.
"I think it is a welcome move. A big gratitude to Muslim religious leader Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali for giving women this authority to come out and offer namaz. I would like to him for at least he has started something where women will get same right. I think every mosque should adopt this. It is a very welcome step," Shafiq told ANI in New Delhi.
"I would also request people to participate in huge numbers on Thursday to offer Namaz so that others too get courage," she added.
According to reports, the move comes at a time when instances of women being denied entry to Haji Ali Durgah and sanctum sanctorum at Shani temple in Maharashtra have made headlines with women organisations demanding equal rights on access to places of worship at par with their male counterparts.
The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan has petitioned the Bombay high court seeking a ruling that bans restrictions on women visiting Haji Ali Durgah in Mumbai, with the hope that a favorable ruling from the court would mark a major step forward for women's rights in India.
With inputs from PTI