The Ministry of Religious Affairs has said that Pakistani women would require consent from their husbands or parents to register themselves for the annual Hajj despite being allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage without a male guardian (mahram) by the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) last year.
A document of Hajj Policy 2025 obtained by Geo News read: “No mahram shall be required for women for Hajj 2025, as per the decision of the CII 2023, subject to the submission of an affidavit to the effect: i) their parents or husbands allow them, ii) they are in the group of reliable females and, iii) there is no threat to their dignity.”
The CII had given conditional permission to Pakistani women to perform Hajj without a mahram in November 2023.
In response to a query from the Religious Affairs Ministry, the CII previously said there was a provision in sharia for a woman to perform Hajj or Umrah without a mahram, according to the Jafria, Maliki and Shafi’i schools of thought.
A woman whose parents or husband allow her, could go for Hajj without a mahram, as per the Jafria, Maliki and Shafi’i schools of thought, the council responded to a query from the Religious Affairs Ministry regarding the women’s pilgrimage, adding that the female pilgrims should travel with the company of trustworthy women in a group.
It may be pointed out here that the Saudi government in 2021 had allowed women from across the world to perform Hajj and Umrah without a mahram.
Regarding children, Pakistan’s Hajj Policy 2025 stated that minors under the age of 12 years would not be permitted to participate in the pilgrimage as per the directions issues by the Saudi government.
Special citizens and disabled applicants are required to be accompanied by an attendant to proceed for Hajj, it added.
Meanwhile, those applicants who are barred from travelling abroad by any court or placed on exit control list (ECL) would not be entitled to proceed for Hajj.
Under the government scheme, “a hardship quota of 1000 seats shall be reserved to accommodate split/broken family, mahram for successful ladies, attendants for disabled/special persons and any other hardship need”.
The applicants for hardship quota shall be selected as per the guidelines issued by the ministry.
It is noteworthy to mention that Pakistan has been allotted a quota of 179,210 pilgrims by the Saudi government which will be split evenly between government and private schemes according to the country’s Hajj policy.
