Saudi Arabian government has made a historic decision, allowing female pilgrims to attend Hajj and Umrah without "mahram" (male guardian).
Saudi government announced the decision on Monday, October 10, confirming it applies to all the pilgrims. Speaking about the decision, Tawfiq Al Rabiah, the Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah confirmed, "A woman can come to the kingdom to perform Umrah without a mahram."
This brings about an end to a decades-long rule imposed by Saudi government restricting female pilgrims to enter Mecca without a Mahram for the sacred worship. However, previous exemptions included females attending Hajj or Umrah with large groups of other women.
Though the government brought an end to the previous standing, Riyadh; capital of Saudi Arabiya did not make official statements explaining why.
While female pilgrims have been allowed to enter Saudi Arabia for pilgrimages, Riyadh earlier announced its decision to expand Mecca's mosque to allow larger numbers of worshippers. The project reportedly will cost over 200 billion SAR (Saudi Riyal).
Additionally, the government amended its visa regulations for pilgrims. Previously, Saudi allowed a fixed amount of visas every month, while pilgrims attending Umrah can enter after acquiring a specific visa for it. However, Riyadh has dropped the fixed issuance confirming there will be no limitations anymore.
Moreover, pilgrims were no longer required to get the special visa for Umrah, and can attend for the pilgrimage on general visa.
Riyadh confirms it is working to slice expenses incurred by pilgrims while attending Mecca for the pilgrimage. The country recently introduced a digital platform for pilgrims to acquire visa and permission to enter for worshipping.
Every year, thousands of Muslims gather to Mecca to perform Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.
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