For 25-year-old Fatima, a post-graduate student and a devout Muslim, it was a “memorable” moment as she got the greatest gift this Eid.
Fatima was among hundreds of Muslim women, who scripted history on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr on Thursday, when they offered ‘namaz’ (prayer) at the historic Idgah grounds in the state capital.
As the Lucknow Idgah, for the first time, opened its gates for the women, the latter flocked to the grounds in large numbers well before the scheduled time for offering the prayers.
“I have come here for the first time to offer prayers...it is a great day for me as well as for all the women of the community...it is a giant step toward treating the womenfolk on equal terms with the men,” said Fatima. She said that the decision would also help remove the “misconception” that women were not “equal” in Islam, a view that was also supported by the Muslim clerics.
There were many like Fatima in the congregation of women, happiness writ large on their faces. Almost all of them - from the young English-speaking girls to the elderly - felt that the decision to allow women to offer ‘namaz’ at Idgah was a “huge” step. And many of the women devotees had arrived at the Idgah from remote corners of the city.
The Idgah management had made special arrangements for the women. They offered prayers inside a huge hall on the Idgah campus.
