More men than women pilgrims: India may revisit mahram rules for haj
Photo: A Muslim pilgrim (R) is hugged by a relative before leaving for the annual haj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, in Srinagar July 25, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Ismail
With rules restricting all women’s travel without a male relative, in spite of Saudi mahram regulations, fewer women than men from India go for haj every year under the government’s quota
In late July 2017, the batches of pilgrims leaving for haj from 21 embarkation points across India earmarked by the official Haj Committee of India continued to have fewer women than men travelling even as a senior official told Salaam Gateway that the country may revisit its internal rules related to mahram based on Saudi Arabia’s regulations.
State-wise data paints a similar picture. Of the 150 pilgrims that left from the Indian state of Bihar, for instance, there were 85 men and 65 women. From Odisha, of the 688 pilgrims set to leave, a mere 200 are women. From Jammu and Kashmir, of a total of 8,103 pilgrims, 3,579 were women.
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Shalini Seth, White Paper Media