Pregnant women advised on haj pilgrimmage
Pregnant women advised on haj pilgrimmage
JAKARTA (JP): The government has reiterated its advice that
pregnant women not perform the haj pilgrimage.
The director general of Islamic and haj pilgrimage affairs at
the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Taufik Kamil, said recently it
was too risky for pregnant women to take part in the pilgrimage
because of a ruling by the Saudi Arabian government requiring all
pilgrims to be vaccinated against meningitis. The vaccine is
known to pose health risks to fetuses.
Taufik said pregnant women were not prohibited from making the
pilgrimage, but the compulsory vaccination made it impossible for
them to enter Saudi Arabia.
"We are still looking for alternatives to help these women
obtain permission to perform the pilgrimage, because they are not
banned from taking part in the religious activity," he said
during a break in a seminar here.
An expert staffer at the Office of the State Minister of the
Empowerment of Women, Zaitunah Subchan, said there were no
restrictions in the Koran or Hadits (Words of Prophet Muhammad)
preventing pregnant women from performing the haj.
"But since the vaccination can affect the fetus, the
ministry's prohibition can be absolute," she said as quoted by
Antara.
She suggested the health ministry address the controversy
because there was no law banning women from performing the
pilgrimage.
The director general of contagious disease control and
settlement environmental sanitation at the Ministry of Health,
Umar Fahmi Achmadi, said prohibiting pregnant women from
participating in the haj was aimed at reducing the mortality rate
of pilgrims.
"Pregnant woman are classified in the high-risk group for
death and illness," he said.
A member of the Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, Faturrahman
Djamil, said prohibiting pregnant women from taking part in the
pilgrimage was acceptable, because one of the prerequisites of
the haj was being physically strong and healthy.
"A legitimate and perfect haj ritual is when all of the
obligations and other things related to the haj service have been
fulfilled," he said. (09)