NAWOJ President calls for special considerations for female journalists covering Hajj

President of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Comrade Aisha Ibrahim, has urged relevant authorities to provide special considerations for female journalists assigned to cover the Hajj pilgrimage.

In a statement issued from Saudi Arabia, Comrade Ibrahim highlighted the dual significance of covering the Hajj — as both a spiritual journey and a service to humanity.

She noted that while it is fulfilling, the assignment remains one of the most physically demanding in journalism, with female reporters enduring 35 to 40 days of intense coverage under challenging conditions.

The President who is on an official assignment to cover the Hajj for her state, Borno State, as the Director of Information, Borno State Hajj Commission, emphasized that there are many issues and occurrences concerning women during the Hajj that could best be handled by only women.

She noted that Hajj is a gathering of people with diverse cultures and backgrounds, some of whom usually faced different challenges during the exercise, and urged the National Hajj Commission as well as those of the states to put such considerations in future plannings

The NAWOJ President also urged States to borrow the Borno state model, which usually had both male and female journalists covering the HAJJ exercise every year.

Hajj is a gathering of millions of Muslim faithful from all over the world, and has continued to provide opportunity to meet people from different parts of the world, fostering relationships with the outside world and broadening knowledge.