Makkah: Bushra Shah, a 35-year-old Pakistani, says she is realizing a childhood dream by making the great pilgrimage to Makkah, and under new rules she’s doing it without a male “guardian.”
The Hajj ministry has officially allowed women of all ages to make the pilgrimage without a male relative, known as a “mehrem,” on the condition that they go in a group.
The decision is part of social reforms rolled out by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is trying to shake off the kingdom’s austere image and open up its oil-reliant economy.
Since his rise to power, women have been allowed to drive and to travel abroad without a male guardian.
“It’s like a dream come true. My childhood dream was to make the Hajj,” Shah told AFP, before setting off from her home in Jeddah, the major port city in western Saudi Arabia.
The Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is a must for able-bodied Muslims with the means to do so at least once in their lifetime.
For the young mother, making the pilgrimage with her husband and child would have been a distraction that would have prevented her from “concentrating completely on the rites.”
Shah is one of 60,000 pilgrims chosen to take part in this year’s Hajj, which has been dramatically scaled down for the second year running because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Only citizens and residents of Saudi Arabia, chosen in a lottery, are taking part. Officials have said that 40 percent of this year’s pilgrims are women.
“Many women will also come with me. I am very proud that we are now independent and do not need a guardian,” Shah said.
Her husband, Ali Murtada, said he “strongly encouraged” his wife to make the trip alone, after the government’s decision to ban children from participating in the Hajj this year.
He will stay in Jeddah to look after their child.
“We decided that one of us should go. Maybe she will be pregnant next year or maybe the children will still not be allowed to participate,” the 38-year-old said.
Authorities previously required the presence of a male guardian for any woman pilgrim under the age of 45, preventing many Muslim women around the world from making the Hajj.
That was the case for Marwa Shaker, an Egyptian woman living in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
“Hajj without a guardian is a miracle,” the 42-year-old, who works for a civil society organization, told AFP.
Now traveling to Makkah with three of her friends, the mother of three had tried several times to make the pilgrimage before the pandemic. But she was unable to because her husband had already been and was not permitted to go again so soon.
“I feel enormously joyful. God has called me despite all the obstacles,” she said.
For Sadaf Ghafoor, a British-Pakistani doctor, traveling without a male guardian was the “only option.”
“We couldn’t leave the children alone,” the 40-year-old said of her three youngsters.
Her husband decided to stay behind, and Ghafoor headed to Makkah with a neighbor.
“It was not easy to take the decision to go alone... but we took this opportunity as a blessing,” she said.
Women set off on Hajj in Makkah as ‘guardian’ rule cast aside
https://arab.news/crp4f
Women set off on Hajj in Makkah as ‘guardian’ rule cast aside
- The decision is part of social reforms rolled out by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
- Since his rise to power, women have been allowed to drive and to travel abroad without a male guardian
Pakistan backs Bahrain, calls for de-escalation as Iran war continues
- Dar speaks with Bahrain’s foreign minister, conveys concern over recent attacks in the Gulf
- Both officials call for regional peace a day after Bahrain’s oil exporter declared force majeure
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan called for dialogue and de-escalation to resolve the ongoing Iran war, an official statement said on Tuesday, expressing concern over its continuing spillover into neighboring Arab states following Tehran’s attacks in the Gulf region.
Tensions in the Gulf have surged since coordinated strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran on Feb. 28, diminishing prospects of a diplomatic settlement to Tehran’s long-running dispute with Western countries and Israel over its nuclear program.
Iran subsequently said it was targeting American military bases in Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan, prompting condemnations from those governments, which said several strikes had hit civilian infrastructure.
Pakistan condemned both the initial strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks across the region, urging all sides to halt hostilities.
“Deputy Prime Minister / Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 spoke late last night with Bahrain’s Foreign Minister H. E. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani,” Pakistan’s foreign office said in a social media post. “They exchanged views on the developments in the Middle East and the wider region, conveying grave concern over recent attacks, including in Bahrain.”
“DPM/FM reaffirmed Pakistan’s solidarity with Bahrain and its people, highlighting the need for de-escalation, dialogue, and efforts for peace and stability in the region,” it added.
The Iran war has disrupted regional energy infrastructure and oil trade.
Bahrain’s state oil company Bapco declared force majeure on its group operations on Friday following an attack on its refinery complex.
Bapco is a major exporter of fuels including diesel, jet fuel and naphtha to markets across the Middle East and Asia.
On Tuesday, Iran launched fresh attacks in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.
Saudi Arabia also said it had destroyed two drones over its oil-rich eastern region and Kuwait’s National Guard said it had shot down six drones.
Dar told Pakistan’s Senate earlier this month that the government was actively striving to defuse tensions in the region. He has also remained in touch with top officials in both Iran and Arab countries.
