At a Haj training session in Delhi, women pilgrims got tips on travel without mehram, the Indian Express reported.
According to Delhi State Haj Committee chairperson Kausar Jahan, this is the highest number for the city ever since the provision to allow women to travel for Haj without a male mehram was introduced in the 2018-2022 Haj policy.
According to data shared by the Ministry of Minority Affairs recently, as many as 4,314 women will be going on the Haj pilgrimage without mehram this year, the highest so far.
At the training session, Shamim Jahan, 71, and her sister, Nasrin Khan, 50, who is a school teacher, expressed happiness that they would be travelling together for Haj. “I’m very happy about being able to go. My husband and I thought we would go together, but he passed away. It will be my sister’s first time abroad,” said Shamim, a Mayur Vihar resident and former MCD school teacher.
For Khaleel, going on Haj has been a long-cherished dream. “My husband and I intended to go together, but… he passed away 13 years ago,” said Khaleel. Elaborating on the training session, she said, “The ihram (clothing) that is to be worn, and rites like tawaf (circumambulating the Kaaba) …what needs to be done… this is being told to us at the training. We have also been given contact numbers in case we need assistance,” said Khaleel.
Tuesday’s session also involved a bit on exercise and physical fitness, something that Khaleel video-recorded to practise later at home.
According to India’s Haj policy, women who are over 45 years can go for the pilgrimage without a male mehram in groups of four or more. According to the 2023 Haj Policy, women may also apply individually and can be later grouped by the Haj Committee.
Kausar Jahan, who held a press conference on Tuesday to brief about Haj-related preparation, said that Delhi is northern India’s largest embarkation point for Haj pilgrims, which means that pilgrims from seven states – Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand – will leave for the pilgrimage from Delhi May 21 onwards.
In addition to around 2,540 people from Delhi, 2,029 people from other states will leave from the capital. A camp will be set up at Ramlila Maidan ahead of their departure.
Ishrat Jahan, 54, will also be travelling without mehram this year. “My husband passed away seven months ago. These sessions are teaching us what to do and how. At the fitness session, we were taught stretching exercises to manage pain,” said the resident of Khajoori Khas.