Kerala grabs first spot in women going on Haj without 'mehram' this year!

New Delhi: Over 4,000 women, the largest group to date, are getting ready to travel for Haj without mehram (male companion), with the first flight scheduled to depart on May 21. Many of these women—more than 2,800—are from Kerala. Since policy changes in 2018 made it possible for Muslim women over 45 to go in groups of four or more for Haj without mehram, the state's women have taken the initiative each year since.

Building on the previous policy (2018–22), the Haj policy 2023 gave single women in the same age group the opportunity to register individually and allowed the Haj Committee of India to arrange them in groups of four or more in accordance with the rules.

More than 65,600 women will be among the 1.4 lakh pilgrims who will travel under the Haj Committee of India quota. Of the total number of women, 15,753 are between the ages of 60 and 80, 222 are between the ages of 81 and 90, and as many as seven are between the ages of 91 and 100.

The most number of women to date, 4,313, will perform Haj under the "without mehram" category. They are from 25 states and Union Territories altogether.

The top state on the list is Kerala (2,807), which is followed by the following states: Uttar Pradesh (222), Tamil Nadu (195), Maharashtra (162), Karnataka (140), Jammu & Kashmir (132), Madhya Pradesh (128), West Bengal (82), Telangana (76), and Gujarat (70). There are four women from Haryana and three from Goa.

One of the factors contributing to the high numbers, according to an official of the Kerala State Haj Committee, is that many of the male members are NRIs who work in the Gulf countries from Kerala. Therefore Muslim women are used to travelling abroad and they feel confident making the trip to qualify for the "without mehram" category when their husbands aren't present.

Indian Consul General in Jeddah, Mohammad Shahid Alam, informed that the first Haj group of this year from India will reach Saudi Arabia on May 21. The annual pilgrimage will take place around June end.

This year, 1,40,020 pilgrims are expected to come for Haj through the Haj Committee and 35,005 through private organisations, for a total of 1,75,025 pilgrims.