Women perform Friday prayers at Ajmer dargah

AJMER: Women offered Friday namaz at the famous dargah of Sufi saint Moinuddin Chisti here, with the shrine's management making special arrangements for them following reports of a move to bar their entry during prayers.

Abdul Alim, the nazim or caretaker of the dargah, said, "We deployed extra staff to ensure a peaceful and hassle- free namaz for women. The Jummey ki dua ki namaz was performed peacefully by women at areas like the Makbara and Jhalara."

"The dargah guards left no stones unturned and cooperated with the women to ensure they got proper places for performing the prayers," Alim said.

Officials at the shrine of the 12th century saint revered across the Indian sub-continent said many women offered prayers at the dalan or courtyard, which has been at the centre of a tussle between the management and the khadims or traditional servers.

A recent move to bar the entry of women to the dargah was the outcome of differences between the management and the association of khadims.

The management asked the khadims to clear the courtyard, which it says they have encroached on, so that space could be provided for women to offer prayers. The khadims, however, said the management should open the mehfilkhana to women so that they could pray there.

Qutubuddin Saki, a khadim, also said the women offered namaz peacefully and without problems.

"Those who have complained that the khadims are reluctant to accommodate women at the dalan should come and see how peacefully the women prayed there," Saki said.