On 21st July, an X user Shadab (ImShadab_) shared disturbing information on the platform that the wife of a known person was abducted by a cab driver during Hajj. Despite the efforts of the police, the wife could not be traced and the husband had to return alone. Screenshots of the now-deleted posts were shared on X by HPhobiaWatch.
Wtf is happening in Mecca & Medina??? pic.twitter.com/Q53UbJ1G1A
— Hindutva Knight (@HPhobiaWatch) July 21, 2024
Replying to Shadab, who has now locked his profile after the post went viral, an X user Sadique said a similar incident happened to a girl who was kidnapped by a cab driver. After keeping her allegedly for several days, he left her at the same hotel where she was staying. Later the girl committed suicide. He alleged that girl was raped.
Another X user Bajify said a similar incident happened to his neighbour last year. The newlywed couple went to Madina for a pilgrimage. When the husband got out of the cab, the driver ran away with the bride.
Another user Mohammed Junaid Khan wrote, “I remember the driver taking us from Makkah to Madinah was throwing phone numbers at all the women. The whole way he was harassing. A similar incident happened. The husband got down to buy water, the driver fled away taking the wife. She was never found.”
Women going missing during Hajj is not an uncommon occurrence. OpIndia found several news reports of women gone missing, kidnapped, raped, groped and so on. On 30th October 2023, a report by 964media alleged that a woman from Kalar in the southern Sulaymaniyah governorate went missing in Saudi Arabia where she was performing Umrah. The 59-year-old woman’s family said she travelled with her brother and several other relatives.
Her brother said, “We entered the Grand Mosque at precisely 9:24 AM last Friday, and before starting to circle the Kaaba, we hired someone to help her circle it in her wheelchair. We specified a location for him to return her to us upon completion, but he did not come back. We do not want to assume that he might have abducted her. In addition to alerting the security forces, we searched for her in hospitals and with the forensic medicine department but did not find any leads. That’s why we have shared our contact information and requested assistance in finding her.”
Sexual abuse, assault and rampant groping incidents
In 2018, CNN published a detailed report on stories of five women who faced sexual abuse at the Hajj. The report suggested that the most of sexual abuse and harassment incidents were reported to have happened during the tawaf ritual where the pilgrims do a counter-clockwise procession around the Kaaba shrine. Some of the women who talked to CNN reported the incident to the police but claimed that the police ignored their plea.
The first story was of a Pakistani woman named Asra Nadeem living in the US who went on pilgrimage at the age of 21 in 2006. After she got stuck in the 2006 stampede, she went again to Mecca to perform Umrah. During that time, she was alone. While performing tawaf, someone grabbed her bum. Later, someone grabbed her breast. When she turned to look who was there, the man smirked at her while he continued to grab her breast.
Another story was of an anonymous British woman who was sexually assaulted in Mecca in 2007. Then-32-year-old woman’s breasts and arms were grabbed while performing tawaf. As the procession continued, she felt someone rubbing his erection on her. When she tried to inform the police, she was shooed away. Moments later, someone pushed his hand between her buttocks. She cried and turned only to see a man smiling at him who said, “Alhamdulillah” (Praise to God).
The third story was of a woman from Indonesia who faced harassment in 2011. At that time, she was only 17. When she was at the hotel, she was catcalled. At Kabba, during tawaf, she felt someone pushing erected genitalia against her. She never went back for pilgrimage after that.
The fourth story was of an anonymous woman from Egypt who faced harassment when she was only 13 years old. When she was returning to the hotel after Umrah, a shopkeeper catcalled her. The second time, during Hajj, someone grabbed her breast. When she looked back, the man who grabbed her breast was standing there with his wife. At that time, she was only 17.
The last story was of Anooshe Mushtaq, a Pakistani woman from Australia. When she was 10 years old, she went for Hajj with her family. A young man groped the little child from behind. On the bus, the conductor groped her upper leg and moved his hand on her chest. As mentioned before, she was only 10 years old at that time.
In September 2022, Desert Sun reported that a 42-year-old woman was kidnapped in Mecca. She was choked and held for eight hours. The man who kidnapped her was arrested and identified as 39-year-old Daniel Gamez Zaragoza.
Not only men, but women have also been reportedly involved in kidnappings. In 2022, a Pakistani woman was arrested for kidnapping a 5-year-old Burmese national girl in Mecca. She was abducted on 29th October and recovered on 1st November.
In 2010, it was reported that an Indian-origin girl identified as Mariam was kidnapped from Mecca. This was the first time she was visiting Mecca. Her father said, “We have been here every year for Umrah. She is in the custody of some evil people who are not allowing her to contact us.” The family has been living in Saudi Arabia for 17 years. She went missing after her mother gave her one-riyal bills to distribute among beggers after the pilgrimage. At that time, Mariam was in class 9.
These reports are just tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of horrifying incidents crimes against women during Hajj.
