The deportees, nine minors and 30 others, were classified by the pilgrim’s office as being without guardians. PAOG officials said Saudi Arabia requires that an adult male relative accompany women aged less than 40 attending the biggest annual Islamic pilgrimage.
The Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca takes place in the last month of the year, per the Islamic calendar.
It is a compulsory religious obligation that ought to be carried out, at least once in their lifetime, by all adult Muslims, who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their families during their absence.
Read the full article by Dasmani Laary at The Africa Report, a publication of Groupe Jeune Afrique.
