Subject: Urgent Appeal – Inclusion of Female SHIs & Trainers for Kashmiri Women Hajis
Respected Sir,
Year after year, the struggles of Kashmiri women undertaking the sacred pilgrimage of Hajj are overlooked — and this year is no different. It is deeply disheartening and unjust that not a single female State Hajj Inspector (SHI) has been selected from Jammu & Kashmir, nor has any female trainer been appointed to guide and support Kashmiri women Hajis. This is not just an oversight — it is a clear act of gender discrimination that denies these women the dignity, comfort, and assistance they deserve on this profound spiritual journey.
How is it fair that Kashmiri women are left without female trainers to teach them the essential rituals of Hajj — a journey that holds unparalleled significance in their lives? How can male SHIs, no matter how well-intentioned, address the unique, sensitive needs of female Hajis, especially when cultural taboos make open discussion impossible? Shouldn’t these women, many of whom are elderly and uneducated, have access to female SHIs who speak their language, understand their struggles, and provide them with the compassionate guidance they need?
During my own Hajj journey last year, I witnessed firsthand the immense hardship Kashmiri women faced in the absence of a female SHI. The visit to Riyaz-ul-Jannah was particularly heartbreaking — women struggled to navigate the process without proper assistance. The chaos at Mina and Arafat, where women stay in separate tents, was made worse by the complete lack of a female SHI to help maintain order and provide comfort. These experiences should not become a repeated, inevitable reality for Kashmiri women Hajis — but with no female SHI appointed yet again this year, history is set to repeat itself.
Why must these women suffer such unnecessary distress on what should be the most spiritually uplifting journey of their lives? Why are they deprived of the basic right to perform Hajj with the same support and guidance that other pilgrims receive?
The solution is both simple and just: appoint female SHIs and trainers from Kashmir who can communicate with these women, understand their cultural sensitivities, and provide the guidance they need to perform Hajj with dignity and ease. Hajj is a once-in-a-lifetime journey — Kashmiri women deserve to undertake it with the right knowledge, emotional comfort, and practical support.
I urge you, with the utmost sincerity, to rectify this ongoing injustice. Ensure that Kashmiri women Hajis are no longer left to face this sacred journey alone and unsupported. They deserve better. They deserve dignity, respect, and the right to perform their pilgrimage with proper guidance from those who truly understand their needs — women like them.
I appeal to you to take immediate, compassionate action.
With hope and heartfelt anticipation,
Saima Shafi
