Revealed: Many Indonesians say they experience sexual harassment during umrah

umrah
haj and umrah pilgrimages (IO/Muhammad Hidayat)

Jakarta, IO – Shocking revelations came from several Indonesian women who conducted the haj and umrah pilgrimages. They claimed to have experienced sexual harassment during the processions, reported BBC Indonesia, Wednesday (1/2).

The first incident was told by Syarifah Olvah Alhamid, a 2015 pageant winner (Puteri Indonesia Intelegensia). She said she experienced a shocking incident when strolling in a shop, situated between where she was staying and the Grand Mosque compound, while waiting for asr call to prayer.

At the time she and her roommate Hajar Enzo stopped by at a jewellery shop. She asked the shopkeeper to fetch her a gold jewellery that caught her attention from the glass showcase. “When he took out the jewellery, he also exposed his genital,” recounted Olvah, adding that it took place in 2020.

Then there is Dini, who said that her mother was trapped in a crowd of burly men when they wanted to touch the Black Stone (Hajar Al-Aswad Stone) in the evening.