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A time bound, three-month commitment to draw up a resolution to admit women as full-fledged members of the Ripon Club (RC) was given by trustee and chairman of the managing committee Xerxes Dastur at the Club’s 130th annual general meeting (AGM) held this July 28. The Club management has doggedly, over the past 10 years or more, agreed to admit women but never put the issue on the agenda or to vote. At present the Club admits women as associate members but as the annual report’s explanatory note states, they are not "entitled to vote or attend the meeting” (see "Ripon’s sexist bias,” Events and Personalities Parsiana, June 21, 2017).

The issue was raised by RC trustee Mehli Cama towards the start of the meeting. "When will we change our constitution to admit women?” he inquired. Member Rohinton Shroff suggested, "change today” while others called for a vote to be taken that evening itself. Trustee Jimmy Pochkhanawalla noted the reform "had been stopped time and again by a section of the members who do not want it.” The sentiment in the meeting was clearly for change. But Dastur stated the change would require "a complete revamp of the constitution.” When pressed to commit to a time limit, he replied, "the next three months.” 
There was a fear that the admission would come with riders barring the non-Parsi male spouses and the children from utilizing Club facilities. But any bar on interfaith married Parsi women would be discriminatory; Parsi men married to non Parsis are not subjected to any limitation on their membership.
Once a resolution is drawn up by end October or early November, the members will finally get to vote on this long-standing and contentious issue.
The Club’s website riponclub.in states "Parsi Zoroastrians above the age of 18, irrespective of gender are more than welcome to become members of this male dominated” Club. Perhaps by the end of this year that claim may become a reality.
Ironically while Parsi women are not welcome as full-fledged members, a Parsi lady from the law firm of Kamdin and Company, Dhun Chhapgar volunteered to be present in the Small Causes Court when the case filed by the landlord, the N. M. Wadia Charities, comes up for hearings. Dastur had complained that no members were coming forward to assist with the legal issues and attendance at the courts. "The managing committee and the trustees are stretched now...We are reaching the end of our tether.” He referred to another case filed by a member and lawyer Khushru Zaiwala "to restrain the Club from ‘settling the matter or selling the premises.’” The Club occupies the top third and fourth floors of the N. M. Wadia Building on Mahatma Gandhi Road. The Club is considering alienation of the fourth floor to the landlord in return for withdrawing the eviction suit. The Wadia Charities contend a social club is not protected by the Maharashtra Rent Act.
Dastur informed the gathering that the Club "was trying to find some settlement with the landlord. The present offer was inadequate. We’ve gone back to the drawing board... (We’ll) hopefully reach some settlement. The matter is difficult. We’ve added three members to our negotiating team, Hoshang Lashkari, Nanu Daruwalla and Behram Sethna. At the extraordinary general meeting held on December 8, 2016 some members had urged the managing committee to add some members to the negotiating team (see "Sell out at the Ripon Club,” Parsiana, December 21, 2016). Cama qualified the meetings with the trustees were "quite cordial.” The next date for hearing was August 14, 2017.
Club member and lawyer Kurush Presswalla cautioned the gathering that any agreement reached on freezing the rent could be undone by new trustees on the Wadia Charities board. Being a public trust, the court would look at the benefits to charity vis-à-vis a social club. As a last resort the best option was to obtain some money from the two floors occupied by the Club and buy ownership premises elsewhere in the area. The Club and the Wadia Trust is also examining if the fourth floor can be leased to a third party and the lease compensation be divided between the Trust and RC.
Elections for three positions on the Club were not held as only three candidates submitted their applications.  Hoshang Hodiwalla was re-elected honorary secretary and Adale Patel and Adil Irani were elected to the managing committee. To save on costs, labor and courier/postal charges, Dastur pointed out that several circulars pertaining to the Club were sent by email instead of printed literature. He asked members to submit their email addresses if they had not done so already.
The president of RC is Sir Dinshaw Petit, the vice president is Rohinton Dhalla and the trustees are Cama, Jehangir Chowna, Dhalla, Dastur and Pochkhanawalla. The managing committee members are Dastur, Hodiwalla, Keki Daruwalla, Dorab Pavri, Berjes Shroff, Viraf Chiniwala, Darab Talyarkhan, Zubin Dalal, Hormuz Mehta and Rustom Irani.