A first in Mecca: Saudi women take part in the solemn ceremony of the renewal of the Kiswa

A first in Mecca: Saudi women take part in the solemn ceremony of the renewal of the Kiswa

Every year, on the vast esplanade of Mecca, according to an ancestral ritual imbued with solemnity, the Holy Kaaba is adorned with its most beautiful dress: the Kiswa.

For the first time in its rich and long history, the fascinating ceremony of the renewal of the precious black silk fabric, lined with cotton and covering an area of ​​658 m², was marked by the presence of an exceptional female delegation.

In fact, employees of the General Administration of the Affairs of the Masjid al-Haram and the Masjid al-Nabawi had the honor of taking part in the inaugural stages of this great ceremony, on the first day of the month of Muharram 1446 AH, and the beginning of the Islamic year.

Saudi and Arab social networks are still buzzing with excitement, as their entry on the scene has provoked a flood of ambivalent reactions, with its share of pros and cons, but also more nuanced ones… While many Internet users enthusiastically welcomed their participation, seeing it as a desirable reinforcement of the presence of women in society, others, much less enthusiastic, disapproved of this pure heresy.

Among those whose opinions are less clear-cut, some have observed that in the factory workshops Umm Al-loud, based in Mecca, where more than 250 people have been working on making the Kiswa since 1930, small female hands apply themselves to sublimating it, by embroidering with gold thread the Koranic verses that adorn it magnificently. A way of praising more subtly the inestimable contribution, for ages, of Saudi women.