Woman, Woman, Woman, Sex, Sex, Sex : More Sexual Abuse During Pilgrimage Being Exposed

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'I never told anyone': 5 women's stories of sexual abuse at the Hajj

By Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim women descend on Mecca to take part in the Hajj, but in recent weeks some female worshipers have told CNN they experienced incidents of sexual abuse or harassment while participating in the five-day pilgrimage.

Five women told CNN they were compelled to share their stories after a Pakistani woman's account of being sexually abused at the Hajj went viral on Facebook last month. That post prompted an outpouring of similar stories from female pilgrims on social media.

Most of the incidents of sexual abuse and harassment reported to CNN happened during the tawaf ritual, a counter-clockwise procession around the Kaaba shrine. 

Saudi Arabia issued a royal decree in Sept 2017 to outlaw sexual harassment. 

Below are the five women's stories. They have been edited for clarity and length. Some women requested to remain anonymous because they fear a backlash within their communities.

1.  Asra Nadeem, a Pakistani woman living in the US

I was 21 years old in 2006 when I did the Hajj for the first time.

But a few days later I went back to Mecca to perform Umrah (a shorter form of the Hajj pilgrimage that can be performed at any time of the year). During that time, I was on my own, doing tawaf around the Kaaba.

I was next to the Kaaba and somebody grabbed my bum. I thought it was just the crowd; everyone was pushing. But then, when I moved up, somebody grabbed my boobs.

I turned my head and I saw this guy just smirking at me. I couldn't do anything, and he was still holding my breast. So, I yelled at him, and then people started pushing me forward, shouting "yalla" ("hurry up").

I reported the incident to the first two guards that I saw but both of them did not speak English and told me to move along.

I didn't go back to do Hajj. It was very traumatic, first the stampede and then the harassment.

2.  Anonymous British woman, now living in Asia

I had never been sexually assaulted before I went to Mecca, in 2007 when I was 32. The first time it happened I was heading into the Grand Mosque to perform tawaf. A man was heading out, towards the courtyard, and as he approached me he outstretched his arm and grabbed my breast. It wasn't a clumsy brush. It was a grab. It was forceful and it hurt. He didn't let go immediately. He squeezed and was looking at me the whole time.

The second time I was in the courtyard of the Grand Mosque and I felt something pressing into my lower spine. It was crowded and lots of people were bumping into each other. But the pressing continued. I turned around and saw it was a man and realized he was pressing his erection into me. He was pushing against me so hard he was almost driving me forward. He too was looking at me and holding my gaze. I ran off and found a policeman and told him (in English) what had happened. He shooed me away. He had no interest in listening to me. I even pointed out the man in the crowd and the policeman still ignored me.

The third time I was in a side street looking at Hajj-related merchandise. I felt a sharp jab from behind. An old man had put his hand between my buttocks with such force that his fingers were almost inside me. It happened really fast and I cried out in shock. He looked at me and smiled and said "Alhamdulillah" ["Praise to God"]. The person at the stall had his back turned and didn't see anything.

I was told before I left that I might get touched inappropriately. But it didn't prepare me for the shock. I think assault happens a lot more at the Hajj than people -- Muslims -- would like to believe.  Talking about sexual assault is difficult enough and talking about it in connection with the Hajj is even harder because it is sacred.

3.  Anonymous woman, Indonesia

I am from Indonesia and I was going to Mecca for Umrah in 2011, when I was 17.

When I did tawaf around the Kaaba, another pilgrim walked behind me and stuck his erect penis into my back.

I felt angry and unsafe. I could not complain about it to anyone because of the situation and everyone thinks "it is the holy city -- who would do that?"

I haven't come back for Umrah/Hajj. I am not sure that I would. Even after it happened I could not focus on my prayer and worship, just counting down when would I leave Mecca.

It's a terrible situation when you are in a mosque, in front of the Kaaba, where you should feel the closest to God and the worst thing happens.

4. Anonymous woman, Egypt

I was harassed two times, one verbally and the other time physically.

The verbal was while I was walking with my sisters and mom during Umrah. Heading back to the hotel after prayers, a shop clerk said something with the implication of "come over here, pretty girl." Mind you, I was 13, I never forgot it. I was very confused and disgusted with myself.

The second time was during Hajj, at the Stoning of the Devil area in Mina, just east of Mecca. In the midst of the crowd, I felt someone grab my boobs, I looked back and it was a man with his wife next to him. He didn't respect his wife nor the holy city so he won't respect me either.

5. Anooshe Mushtaq, a Pakistani woman living in Australia

When I was 10 years old my family was posted to Libya. My father was in the Pakistani air force and was posted there for four years. In 1980, my parents decided to perform Hajj.

I remember I was very excited as performing Hajj is a privilege. My parents traveled to Saudi Arabia with their two daughters. My sister and I were looking forward to going to Mecca and seeing the Kaaba for the first time.

When we entered the Kaaba it was very crowded.    Suddenly a young man groped me from behind. I felt extremely uncomfortable. I grabbed my mother's hand and moved in front of her. I didn't know if I should tell my mum or not so I just kept quiet.

During Hajj we were supposed to travel on a bus from Mecca to Medina. As we sat in the bus my sister and I sat next to each other and our parents sat in the seats behind each us.

The bus conductor was checking tickets. The bus conductor stood beside my seat and acted like he wanted to fix something on the inside of my seat. He moved his hand on my chest and groped my upper leg and he would not leave it. I felt angry and disgusted but didn't know what to do. He then reached out as if he was fixing the curtains while thrusting his groin in my face.

I didn't tell anyone due to shame and honor of my family and I kept quiet. I never told anyone what happened during Hajj until I recently saw the sexual assault post.

If I get a chance I will perform Hajj a second time in the future.