Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband issued a fatwa forbidding women from participating in marriage processions with men.
It is common for women relatives of the groom to participate in such processions with other men in the family. Sometimes, music is also played in these processions.
The fatwa came after a Saharanpur resident raised questions regarding the practice with the fatwa department of the seminary. The seminary responded that not only were women forbidden from participating in such social functions with men, they were also forbidden from eating food alongside men on such occasions.
The seminary also asserted that Muslims should not eat food while standing and advised them to refrain from such activities.
Deoband has come up with such bizarre fatwas at a remarkable frequency. Earlier in February, the Islamic seminary decided to issue a fatwa against Muslim women from taking help of men while trying bangles in shops.
Prior to that, Darul Uloom Deoband clerics had issued a fatwa against life insurance, as they claimed that life and death were in the hands of Allah and no insurance company could guarantee a man’s longevity.
In the past, a cleric of the seminary issued a fatwa against women watching football match, on the plea that watching men playing with bare knees was forbidden for women.