ABSTRACT
Although pilgrimage to Mecca is a sacred duty for all Muslims who are able to undertake it, due to local conceptions of the physical and social mobility it involves, until recently most Moroccans tended to associate the hajj performance with men rather than women. While more female pilgrims are able to perform the pilgrimage today, women continue to face many challenges before they are able to go on pilgrimage to Mecca. This chapter discusses the hajj narratives of Moroccan women from different backgrounds. Taking an intersectionality approach, it studies how women’s pilgrimage experiences are related to their mobility in everyday life and to the forms of capital needed to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca and the kinds of capital that one acquires through Hajj performance. What opportunities and hindrances do different categories of women who desire to go on hajj meet? How do they describe their experiences? What are the social consequences of becoming a Hajja for women from different socio-economic backgrounds? How do women respond to the authority of men and issues of equality in relation to pilgrimage?
