It started with revelations by victims of sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood. Now Muslim women are speaking up about their experience of assault during the Umrah and Hajj pilgrimages to Mecca.
“I’ve experienced it [sexual harassment in Mecca] twice," Salma Omar, a 33-year-old teacher and mother of triplets from Cairo, told Middle East Eye. "The first time I was in my early twenties, and while doing Umrah, a guy started touching me from behind.”
Such revelations follow testimonies emerging from American celebrities, with some Muslim women using the #MosqueMeToo to talk about sexual assault while in Mecca.
“The second time was during the Hajj a few years later," Omar continued. "When I was doing the Tawaf around the Kaaba, a guy kept following me and rubbing up against me. At first, I thought it was a mistake especially given the context.
“It was so crowded, I couldn’t turn around to see who it was at first, but when eventually I did, I saw a guy staring right into my eyes and smiling. [The assault] must have continued for about five or 10 minutes as I kept trying to reach the rest of the group I was with.
“I felt terrified. This incident definitely scarred me for life.”
Many women who spoke to Middle East Eye said that their experiences had traumatised them and that the problem persists because there are few avenues to hold offenders to account.
“You would expect this to happen anywhere but in Mecca,” added Omar, who said she felt humiliated and baffled by the incident, leaving her unable to respond.
As the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad and the site of his first revelation of the Quran, Mecca is regarded as the holiest city in Islam and a pilgrimage to it, known as the Hajj, is obligatory for all able Muslims.
