The Ministry of Religious Affairs has announced that despite the 2023 ruling by the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) allowing Pakistani women to perform the Hajj without a male guardian (mahram), they will still need the consent of their husbands or fathers to register for the pilgrimage in 2025. .
According to the Hajj 2025 Policy document, “No mahram will be required from women for Hajj 2025, as per the decision of CII 2023, subject to submission of an affidavit to the effect of: i) their fathers or husbands “They allow it, ii) they are in the group of trustworthy women, and iii) there is no threat to their dignity.”
This decision comes after the CII’s conditional approval in November 2023, allowing women to travel without mahram for Hajj, provided certain conditions are met. These conditions include ensuring that the woman is accompanied by a group of trusted women and that there is no danger to her dignity during the trip.
The CII had previously clarified that according to the Jafria, Maliki and Shafi’i schools of thought, women are allowed to perform Hajj or Umrah without a mahram if their fathers or husbands approve, and if they are part of a group reliable and complete. female group.
The Saudi government had also removed the mahram requirement for women traveling to perform Hajj and Umrah starting in 2021, a policy that was expanded internationally.
As for minors, the 2025 policy stipulates that children under 12 years of age will not be allowed to participate in the pilgrimage, in accordance with Saudi regulations. Additionally, special citizens and disabled applicants must be accompanied by an attendant to travel to the Hajj.
Applicants who are prohibited from traveling due to court orders or who are on the Exit Control List (ECL) will not be eligible for the pilgrimage.
The policy also includes a “hardship quota” of 1,000 seats reserved for split families, mahrams for successful women applicants, assistants for disabled people and other special cases.
The Saudi government has allocated Pakistan a total of 179,210 Hajj seats, with an equal split between government and private schemes, in line with the country’s Hajj policy.
The government has also outlined guidelines for selecting applicants under the hardship quota, ensuring that those facing specific challenges can still participate in the holy pilgrimage.
