Peshawar mosque opens doors for women after 25 years

PESHAWAR: Women in Peshawar will be able to offer Friday prayers in congregation after a 25year hiatus as the law and order situation in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has improved significantly following the launch of successful military operations, a media report said.

Until the mid 1990s, women would offer Friday prayers in congregation at Sunehri Masjid (Golden Mosque) situated in the Peshawar cantonment but the practice was abandoned after terrorism badly hit the provincial capital, The Express Tribune said in the report on Sunday.

Dozens of terrorist attacks took place near the mosque which led to its closure for women almost 25 years ago.

In 2016, 16 people were killed and dozens wounded when a powerful bomb went off as the bus carrying mostly government employees cruised past the mosque in the crowded marketplace of Saddar.

Now, with a substantial improvement in the security situation, the authorities have decided to resume the practice and arrangements for women’s congregation prayers have been finalised.

The authorities have also put up a banner outside the mosque carrying message “that women are now welcomed to offer Friday prayer at Sunheri Masjid.”

The move is being praised as a step to discourage the patriarchal nature of spaces like mosques and ‘hujras’ (a room where guests are entertained in Pashtun areas of Pakistan) from where women are excluded.

In an unrelated development, the Punjab University (PU) administration has suspended 14 students from attending classes for their alleged involvement in an on-campus clash between two student organisations.

Up to 18 people, including 10 security guards, were injured when Islami Jamiat Tulaba (IJT) and Pakhtun Students Council clashed with each other outside the Sociology Department.

The violence erupted due to exchange of words at a canteen outside the Sociology Department and the brawl soon developed into a scuffle leaving Pakhtun Council Chairman Waqas Khan, Wasim Wazir, Sohail Dawar and Israr Baloch injured.

Later, Pakhtun Council and Punjabi Council activists started protest march on the vicechancellor office when they spotted four IJT activists coming out of a mosque near Faisal Auditorium.

Pakhtun Council students thrashed and injured them critically. Security guards stepped in to stop the students were also thrashed and 10 of them suffered head injuries. The injured IJT activists were identified as Qadeer, Bilal, Arslan Sarfraz, and Arslan Manj.