It is an established rule of Muslim law that neither a minor nor a person of unsound mind can be mutawalli. But a minor may be a mutawalli where the office of mutawalli is hereditary and the person entitled to succeed is a minor, or where the line of succession is laid down in the wakf-nama and the office falls on a minor.
Where a female can be mutawalli depends upon the nature of the wakf. In Shahar Banoo v. Aga Md., the Privy Council held that there is no legal prohibition against a woman holding the office of mutawalli, particularly when a Wakf by its very nature does not require performance of any spiritual duties or functions, In Munnauari Begum v, Mir Mahapalli, the Madras High Court and in Kasim v. Hazara Begum, the Calcutta High Court held that a woman can be appointed head mujawar of a aston or platform where muharram ceremonies are performed. This is also the view of the other High Court.
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The duties of a manager of a graveyard are secular, and, therefore, a woman can be appointed as mutawalli. The general rule is that in all those cases where the spiritual or religious functions can be discharged by a deputy, there cannot be any objection to the appointment of a woman as mutawalli Thus, a woman cannot be sajjajdanashin (spiritual head), khatib (one who reads sermons), mujavai of a dargah, an imam of a mosque (one who leads congregation), or a mulla.
In Syed Mahomed Ghose v. Sayabiran, the Madras High Court observed that where the court is required to appoint a mutawalli, whether the duties are secular or religious, it must prefer to appoint a male mutawalli, since Muslim women observe pardah. The Supreme Court in Md. Zainulasideen v. Moideen has classified the position further by holding that a woman can be the manager or mutawalli.
It has been held that a woman can hold offices of both mutawalli and sajjadanashin. She can perform secular functions herself and spiritual functions can be performed by her through a deputy or a proxy.