The Ministry of Religious Affairs has announced that for Hajj 2025, Pakistani women will no longer be required to have a male guardian (mahram) as per the 2023 ruling of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII). However, they must still obtain consent from their husbands or parents before registering for the pilgrimage.
According to the Hajj 2025 policy, women can perform Hajj without a mahram, but they must submit an affidavit confirming that they have received permission from their parents or husbands, are part of a reliable all-female group, and that there is no threat to their dignity during the journey. This decision follows the CII’s approval in November 2023, which allowed women to travel for Hajj without a mahram, as long as certain conditions were met. The CII had clarified that, according to the Jafria, Maliki, and Shafi’i schools of thought, women can perform Hajj or Umrah without a mahram if they have the consent of their parents or husbands and are accompanied by a trustworthy group of women.
The Saudi government had already lifted the mahram requirement for women traveling for Hajj and Umrah in 2021, a policy that has since been extended internationally.
For minors, the Hajj 2025 policy states that children under 12 will not be allowed to participate, in line with Saudi regulations. Additionally, special citizens and disabled individuals will need to be accompanied by an attendant for the pilgrimage.
Applicants who are ineligible due to court orders or listed on the Exit Control List (ECL) will not be allowed to travel. The government has also reserved 1,000 seats under a “hardship quota” for special cases, such as mahrams for successful female applicants and attendants for disabled individuals.
Pakistan has been allotted 179,210 seats for Hajj 2025, with an equal split between the government and private schemes. The government has set clear guidelines for the hardship quota to ensure fair access for all applicants.
