Ramzano Begum has no unfulfilled needs left, after she managed to make the non secular journey of Haj final month, for which she has been saving for nearly a decade. She and 4,314 different Muslim ladies pilgrims from India travelled alone to Mecca this 12 months, a 12 months after Saudi Arabia lifted the rule which required ladies to be accompanied by a Mahram (a male companion from the bloodline) to be able to carry out Haj.

Ms. Begum, 57, who sews garments to earn a residing in Delhi’s Patparganj, misplaced her husband Panna Lal eight years in the past. Since then, the one factor she has been saving for is Haj, which is without doubt one of the 5 elementary practices of Islam and a compulsory ritual for all Muslims. This was her fourth try and embark on the non secular journey; beforehand, ladies with out a male companion may solely embark on Haj as a part of giant teams of different ladies.

Chance of a lifetime

In 2023, the Saudi authorities allotted a quota of 1,75,025 individuals to India for the annual pilgrimage. According to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, India despatched the “largest-ever contingent of women on Hajj without a Mehram” this 12 months.

For Haneefa Akhtar, 49, a divorcee from Baramulla’s Gund Kha Qasim space in north Kashmir, it could not have been doable to carry out Haj if the situation had not been lifted.

“I have a son who is in Class 8. Either I had to wait for him to grow old or was dependent on my brothers to perform Haj. However, the lifting of the ban made it possible for me to perform Haj. I have been yearning to undertake this journey for many years,” mentioned Ms. Akhtar, who sees the Saudi authorities’s choice as a significant leap for Muslim ladies throughout the globe.

All-women flight

To rejoice this historic milestone, Air India flew a particular flight from Kozhikode to Jeddah with all-women cabin crew and pilots, which ferried solely ladies Hajjis. The floor crew and baggage handlers for the flight have been all ladies as nicely.

By reaching Mecca on their very own, these pioneer ladies Hajjis haven’t solely managed to beat the psychological and societal blocks stopping ladies from embarking on the non secular journey alone, but in addition paved the best way for different ladies from their group to comply with of their footsteps.

Female solidarity

“My husband told me that I may not return alive from the Haj. It was scary initially. However, the fact [is] that all women without Mahram were put up together. They helped each other at every juncture,” mentioned Shaheena Malik, 70, a resident of Srinagar’s HMT space.

She shared how ladies who have been educated helped those that couldn’t learn and write, studying the signal boards for them.

“Indeed, there were women who could not use a water purifier or even know the ways to perform rituals. Still, we all managed to complete Haj and umrah by helping each other,” recalled Ishrat Parveen, 67. The Dehradun resident offered a property and saved a share from it to carry out Haj as that was her solely supply of revenue after the demise of her husband.

The ladies stayed in Saudi Arabia for over a month, from June to July. Most feminine pilgrims, break up into teams, mentioned that they created human chains in order that others managed to securely carry out rituals — resembling namaz, or throwing stones at evil — even within the midst of the crowds.

‘Divine task’

Saudabi Ok.Ok., 46, a Hindi trainer from Wayanad was one of many volunteers despatched by the Kerala authorities to assist the ladies Hajjis. Though it was the primary time she had left her teenage youngsters for thus lengthy, she readily agreed to do it, as a result of she felt it was a “divine” process.

“Who gets an opportunity to go to Haj at my age, and with a divine task of helping other women, mostly elderly, to take this spiritual journey? Every time I used to help a Hajji, she used to place her hand on my head and shower blessings. It was an experience that couldn’t be explained in words,” mentioned Ms. Saudabi.