Pakistan has not yet implemented the policy of Saudi Arabia allowing women to perform Hajj without Muharram, and Pakistani women going on Hajj this year will perform Hajj under the previous rules.
Officials of Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs, which is responsible for the process of Hajj, have said that men and women going on Hajj this year will go under the previous Hajj policy and will be allowed to perform Hajj without Muharram. Saudi laws will not apply.
The government of Saudi Arabia has given facilities to women coming for Hajj from all over the world so that they can come without Muharram and register themselves for the Hajj journey.
However, Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs says that this year’s Hajj arrangements have been made under the previous scheme, due to which Pakistani women will not be able to benefit from the facility of performing Hajj without Muharram.
When asked about this, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Religious Affairs said that not implementing this policy will not have much impact on Pakistani women, as they prefer to perform Hajj with their families anyway.
He said that the policy that was approved by us was that we kept the old scheme. Accordingly, women will go with Muharram.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Religious Affairs said that under the old scheme, Sunni women go for Hajj with Muharram, while Shia women can go without Muharram in certain circumstances.
“We have decided that Sunni women will go with Muharram, but Shia women who are above 45 years of age were allowed to go without Muharram, even if they are part of some group.”
“Pakistani women do not like to perform Hajj without Muharram”
There are less than 100 female Shia pilgrims who are performing Hajj without a Muharram, and this is due to compulsion or because they do not have a Muharram who they would like. They can’t take it with them, or they can’t take it with them under any other compulsion.
“Most Pakistani ladies prefer to go for hajj with a mahram, i.e., with a relative, with their brother, with their father, with their husband, or with their son, instead of going alone.”
Ministry of Religious Affairs said that there are no cases in which women want to go without Muharram.