The Supreme Court’s landmark verdict allowing women of all ages to enter the famous Sabarimala Temple in Kerala has sparked a revolution of sorts among women belonging to other faiths as well. Following the verdict, NISA, a Kozhikode-based progressive forum for women announced that they are going to approach the apex court to demand the entry of women into mosques.
Social activist and president of NISA, VP Zuhra, has been subjected to abuse on social media ever since they announced that they want women to be allowed entry into mosques to pray.
Speaking to TNM, Zuhra says that she is planning on filing a complaint with the cyber cell as well as to the Commissioner of Kozhikode regarding the online abuse.
“Ever since we told the media that women should be allowed inside Sunni mosques, I have started to receive various threats online. Some of the cyber attacks were in the form of posters that carried my picture saying, ‘This is the person who wants to enter the mosque. Hope God calls her immediately’,” says Zuhra.
NISA, Zuhra says, means women in Arabic. The organisation has been campaigning for equal rights for Muslim women in various areas of life like marriage, divorce, inheritance and other areas of Muslim personal law.
“This is not the first time that we are facing such threats. Since we are a progressive organisation, speak our minds and fight for our rights, we have always been receiving threats. Speaking for the rights of women is always dangerous, and you hardly get any support here,” says Zuhra.
She says she will consult with a lawyer before she approaches the cyber cell with a complaint, but her family is against the idea. “My family hasn’t and never will support me in my endeavours. They are also against me filing a police complaint against the cyber attacks. They’ll be more than happy to see us getting attacked,” she tells TNM, laughing.
“All of this will not stop me from approaching the Supreme Court demanding the entry of women into the mosques,” she adds.
“Like men, women also have the constitutional rights to offer worship according to their belief. So, like in Sabarimala, we want the entry of women in all mosques, cutting across denominations and establish their right to worship," Zuhra had earlier told the media. She said that discussions were on with the lawyer, and a petition in this regard would be filed at the Supreme Court soon.