Women offer namaz in public in Assam's Mangaldoi

Story by ATV | Posted by Aasha Khosa | Date 15-07-2022

Women at Eidgah of Mangaldoi to ofer namaz

Asad Ali/Mangaldoi

In what seems to be a rare instance in the national context, hundreds of women came out in Mangaldoi in Assam’s Darrang district and took part in the ‘namaz’ on the occasion of Eid ul-Zuha.

This time, women came out in even larger numbers than earlier and offered ‘namaz’ at Badiya Idgah Maidan of Mangaldoi town.

Unlike most other places in the state and outside where women are kept away from the public ‘namaz’ in Mangaldoi, it’s not a rare incident. According to reports, this has been a tradition of the place for a few years now.

All the women offering namaz in public were either wearing a burqa or hijab. The spaces for men and women worshippers were separated with barricades. The was an additional screen for women’s gatherings. The Eid prayers were led by Maulana Dr. Nawab Ali.

It is worth mentioning that about 20 years ago, an environment was created in which women were encouraged to offer Namaz on the grounds of Bandia Idgah.

According to Hafizur Rahman Jano, General Secretary of Bandiya Idgah Committee, at first the women in the village were offering Eid prayers at a particular place, but later the Idgah Committee took the initiative to make a separate curtained arrangement for all the women in the Idgah ground and they were encouraged to participate in Eid prayers on the same lines as men.

The Bandia Idgah ground is quite big and all the women of the town can together pray there. Besides this, women have also participated in Eid prayers at Jogipara Idgah Ground, Daipam Idgah Ground, and Nadopri Idgah Ground in the Darrang district.

Women have also been participating in weekly Friday prayers at Bandiya Masjid. Bandia and Masjid. The men of the house worship in the west direction and the women of the house in the east.

In this area, local scholar Maulana Abdul Rahim Dehlvi, Dr. Nawab Ali of Prophet Ali Adih quoted from the Quran Hadith that all Muslim women can participate in Friday prayers or Eid prayers and offer prayers. There is no restriction of any kind in this area.