WebQoof: Did Modi Govt Relax Rules For Muslim Women Going to Haj?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has claimed that his government has removed the restriction of having a male guardian or ‘mahram’ every time a Muslim woman wants to go on Haj pilgrimage.
The prime minister said this in his monthly radio address ‘Mann ki baat’ on 31 December, 2017.
“It has come to our notice that if a Muslim woman wants to go on Haj Pilgrimage, she must have a ‘Mehram’ or a male guardian, otherwise she cannot travel,
“When I first heard about it, I wondered how it could be possible! Who would have drafted such rules? Why this discrimination? And when I went into the depth of the matter I was surprised to find that – even after seventy 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. Even in many Islamic countries this practice does not exist. But Muslim women in India did not have this right. And I’m glad that our government paid heed to this matter.
“Our Ministry of Minority Affairs issued corrective measures and we ameliorated this restriction by phasing out a tradition that had been in practice for the past seventy years. Today, Muslim women can perform Haj without ‘mahram’ or male Guardian and I am happy to note that this time about thirteen hundred 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.”
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