Islamabad (Pakistan News online) Permission from father or husband has been made mandatory for women going on Hajj alone without a Mahram and the Ministry of Religious Affairs has also issued a notification in this regard.
According to the notification, this year the Saudi government has given Pakistan a total quota of 179,210 Hajj pilgrims, of which about 89,602 people will travel to the Holy Hijaz under the government scheme, while the rest will leave for Hajj through private tour operators.
According to the 2025 Hajj Policy Document, women can travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj alone under the conditions set by the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII). However, according to the decision taken in the meeting of the Council held on June 6 and 7, 2023, a woman (without a mahram) will be allowed to perform Hajj with the conditions that her parents have given her permission and, if married, her husband has given her permission.
In addition, according to the condition stated by the Council, a woman can travel with a group of trustworthy female pilgrims as long as there is no threat to her honor.
Children under the age of 12 cannot go for Hajj, while the vaccine approved by Saudi Arabia has been made mandatory for pilgrims.
It should be remembered that in the past, Pakistani women could not go to Saudi Arabia for Hajj alone, but in 2021, the Saudi government lifted the ban on women traveling alone for Hajj and Umrah, and the move was described as part of a campaign by the Saudi political leadership to improve the situation of women’s rights in the country.