According to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, now Muslim women aged above 45 will be allowed to go for the pilgrimage without ‘mahram’ in a group of at least four
Terming the policy of allowing Muslim women to perform Haj only in the company of a male guardian as “injustice”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said his government has removed the restriction following which hundreds of women have applied to travel alone for the pilgrimage.
According to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, now Muslim women aged above 45 will be allowed to go for the pilgrimage without ‘mahram’ in a group of at least four. In his monthly radio address of ‘Mann ki baat’, the Prime Minister said removal of the restriction of having a male guardian or ‘mahram’ may appear as a “small thing”, but such issues “have a far reaching impact on our image as a society”.
“Why this discrimination? And when I went into the depth of the matter I was surprised to find that even after 70 years of our independence, we were the ones who had imposed these restrictions. For decades, injustice was being rendered to Muslim women but there was no discussion on it,” he said.
“I am happy to note that this time about 1,300 Muslim women have applied to perform Haj without ‘mahram’ and women from different parts of the country from Kerala to north India, have expressed their wish to go for the Haj pilgrimage,” he said.
He said he has suggested to the Ministry of Minority Affairs that they should ensure that all women who have applied to travel alone be allowed to perform Haj.
All India Muslim Personal Law Board member Kamal Faruqui is pleased that the prime minister has accepted the recommendations made by the committee that was asked to review the existing Haj Policy of the Government for 2013-17, and to suggest the framework for the new Haj policy 2018-22.
Granting women permission to perform Haj without a “mehram” or a male guardian was one of the recommendations the committee had made. Author and journalist Zafaraul Islam Khan, however, is not impressed. “Modi is simply wooing his vote bank. Muslim women were already entitle to this priviledge.”
—With agency inputs
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Haj Pilgrims")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}