Mumbai’s Juma Masjid Now Has A Separate Prayer Hall For Female Worshippers

For a while now, women of the Islamic faith who visited Mumbai’s Crawford market have had a hard time. Despite hearing the muezzin’s call from the Juma Masjid nearby, they were unable to go as it didn’t have any provisions for women to pray in the mosque. However, there has been a change recently during the auspicious month of Ramzan as a separate prayer room for women has opened in the mosque. 

A room exclusively for women has been opened adjacent to the Juma Masjid’s Southern wall during the holy month. Sources claim that this will be a big relief for women who come to Crawford market and Bhendi Bazaar from out of town can pray there in peace. Furthermore, they can use the washroom there as well if it’s not prayer time. 

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The 250-year-old iconic mosque had a small prayer room for female worshippers near the office of Juma Masjid of Bombay Trust. Shoeb Khatib, who is the Trust’s president said that they thought that the room was small and hence decided to create provisions for the same. He further added that the women’s section has been built to resemble a mosque. It has facilities such as toilets and wazu (ablutions). There are going to be female guards and cleaners too. 

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Women used to have access to the mosque during the prophet’s era. But as time passed, their entry into the mosque lessened and was discouraged. Furthermore, it became a complete taboo! Except for 1-2 mosques, none of the 200 mosques in the city has provisions for women. Ashfaq Kazi, head of the Fatwa Department at Juma Masjid said that ideally men and women should be in the same prayer room with women in the back rows. However, since the society we live in is less than ideal, it is better for women to have their own prayer room. 

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