A number of specialists have expressed their opposition to the Shoura Council's proposal of building an exclusive overpass for female visitors in the Prophet's Mosque. The idea was mooted to enable them to transit from the eastern side of the mosque to the Rawdah without mixing with male visitors, according to a report in Al-Madina newspaper. The Rawdah in the Prophet's Mosque is a very special but small area that extends from the sacred chamber that houses the tombs of the Prophet and two of his companions to his pulpit. Pilgrims attempt to visit the area to pray because of a tradition that says supplications uttered there are never rejected. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "The area between my house and my pulpit is one of the gardens of Paradise." The specialists, who have been on previous committees to study the current situation of women visiting the Rawdah at the mosque, were of the view that the Shoura was not the competent authority to discuss such a proposal, but recommendations should be sent to those who can implement these proposals. They also noted that the proposed overpass is "unrealistic" and does not serve the purpose of women visiting the Prophet's Mosque. It does not fit with the reality of the Prophet's Mosque and the Rawdah, they said. Shoura member Abbas Hadi, who made the suggestion, defended the proposal, saying that the interim corridor causes a host of problems, while the proposal contributes to creating a link between the eastern prayer area and the Rawdah without causing inconvenience to the worshippers. Fareed Al-Maimani, member in previous committees to study visits of men and women to the Rawdah, said that the Shoura member's proposal does not fit into the scheme of the Rawdah's structure, as well as the current expansion of the Prophet's Mosque, and it is not easy to implement. He added that there are a lot of opinions and studies that can be done for an alternative to the overpass and that the proposal does not serve the spirituality of the Rawdah. Anas Sairafi, who prepared a previous study for the development of solutions for women visiting the Rawdah, explained that any additional construction within the Prophet's Mosque or the Rawdah would change its parameters. In addition, he said the proposed change could violate the sanctity of the Rawdah. He added that the solutions are possible without creating chaos in the Prophet's Mosque, including regulatory solutions and the allocation of specific times for visiting the Rawdah, making it fully accessible to women. Hadi said his proposal was based on realistic observations to the current visitors' situation. He said currently a number of measures are needed to allow women to visit the Rawdah, including temporary barriers between the eastern wing for women and the Rawdah. "The barriers require the evacuation of worshippers and the consequent evacuation of the site. Communication with worshippers become difficult as some of them cannot understand Arabic and do not know of the measures being put in place," said Hadi.
