the masjid & me at ages under 10 & over 20
the question of Muslim female prayer spaces
Who would have thought, that of all the places on this earth where Muslim women would feel unwelcome, the masjid would be one of them.
That's just not right, is it?
The injustice I felt over the contrasting masjid experiences I had growing up versus the one I experienced as an adult was one of the reasons why I ended up writing my analysis essay for a uni elective class on the topic of Muslim female prayer spaces.
According to a 2020 Census¹, Islam is the second largest religious affiliation in the Philippines, with Roman Catholicism coming in first.
Oh wowww, second place huh? Not bad…
But not so fast, my friend. My people had a whole 300 years of Spanish colonization that won't be washed away so easily. This foreign influence lives on to this day in our history, foodways, language, and in the religion of most Filipinos.
Comparing 78.8% (Roman Catholic) with 6.4% (Islam), the difference in size is just very, very wide, isn't it?
Based on these percentages, there are about twelve times as many Roman Catholics as there are Muslims on this archipelago. I could have grown up as part of a religious minority in my own homeland, but instead God had other plans for me.
Across the sea, I was raised in a country where Islam is literally part of the nation's philosophy, masjids are aplenty, and formal Islamic education is compulsory for all Muslim kids alongside their regular school. It was where they taught us how to practice Islam, from praying to fasting to reading Qur'an. Complete with practicals, exams, graduation and all.
I grew up surrounded by Islam and Muslims, so I did not go through that childhood phase of being the odd one out because of my faith. At least when it came to that, I blended right in with the majority.
As a result, I was not a stranger to the mosque because there was always a place designated for me — as a female — be that in the grand national masjid of the country, the surau (Islamic assembly building) inside a shopping complex, or the musalla (prayer area) of a library.
In fact, there was one mosque right next to our Islamic school. It was also the masjid of my childhood, where my family prayed many Eid and Taraweeh. That masjid embraced me as a child and as a teenager.
To first give you an idea, this masjid follows what Megahed (2022) calls the "pan-culturally accepted recipe" of many modern mosques that you might already be familiar with. Think segregated male and female prayer spaces, where the men occupy larger areas compared to the women, and also where the brothers' threshold experience of the mosque is always much more grand than us sisters. Yeah, this mosque was like that.
Why am I so fond of this masjid?
So when I was around 7 to 9 years old, my father would bring me and my two younger sisters to that particular mosque on Friday nights. They do weekly Yasin recitations after Maghrib (sunset prayer), and dinner was provided to the jemaah (congregants) that came. Admittedly, the free food was my main incentive for going to the mosque (not the purest intention, I know, tsk tsk).
I remember watching for the uncle that would come into the main praying hall carrying a big laundry basket filled with styrofoam food containers. Then after Isha (night prayer) concluded, the jemaah would just grab one as they leave to go home. But how was I seeing all of this if the ladies have a separate praying space from the men?
Well, in my childhood mosque, they would occasionally close off a small area in the men's section using movable opaque partitions so the women can worship in the same space, underneath the beautifully decorated green dome with its high ceiling. Perhaps my Muslim sisters can relate, that beholding the complete interior aesthetic of the masjid we were visiting is a luxury not always afforded to us because of the spatial orientation.
That was how it happened that once upon a time, three little girls ran around, playing and tumbling in the small, closed off section of the main praying hall of a mosque while the adults were reading Qur'an, because kids will be kids after all.
I remember pressing my face down sideways on the carpeted floor so I can peek at what's happening in the men's side through the gap between the floor and the partition. Thankfully, my father said we girls were never too rowdy as to disturb them anyway (phew!). At the end of the night, the bounty I took home with me was a meal of rice and chicken, with a comforting feeling that I had a place, and that I belonged in that House of God.
So you see, that was why I had fond memories of the mosque. It was also why I was really hurt upon firsthand experiencing that we women were not always welcomed in all masjids, and this happened during Ramadan of all months. While I was researching for my analysis essay, I also stumbled upon many anecdotes online from other Muslim sisters who had more severe negative experiences with the mosque.
“Sorry, it's for brothers only.”
The masjid is not just a place of worship, but it's also a communal space where Muslims can gather and meet each other, to learn, to plan and organize activities for the ummah. It becomes an especially crucial centre in areas where Muslims are a religious minority.
The combined presence of different Muslims in a masjid — from families with children, to enthusiastic youth organizations, to the assembly of aunties and uncles — all make up a thriving Muslim community. But how would a community truly flourish if that common spiritual and communal space was built to cater to the needs of one gender only?
In a study of 1200 Muslim women in the UK, less than 50% of them report a positive experience within the Muslim community.³
It says WITHIN the Muslim community, not outside of it. Isn't this community supposed to be the very people that should be welcoming to a Muslim woman, even if the rest of the world shuns her?
When non-Muslims are not very accommodating to us Muslims, it stings, yeah. But you sort of already expected it as a possibility.
However, when this type of treatment comes from people who are supposed to stand with you, be your allies, your protectors, it hurts more… because it feels like a betrayal.
Et tu, Brute?
The same study found that 1 in 5 Muslim women have been denied entry to a Masjid.
Some of the ladies’ experiences :
“The males go to the masjid and we are forced to pray in changing rooms, car parks etc.”
“[I] felt like [mosques] would rather me pray on the streets where I have more chance of being harassed…”
“[I felt] angry that those men have the right to prevent me from a right my Lord has over me to pray. and in direct opposition to the hadith about not preventing women from the mosque”
“I feel like a sort of second-class citizen – if there’s extra space/time/resources, we’ll be accommodated for.”
Yes, it's a thing. It's real and happening.
I myself got just a very mild version of the masjid experience and wasn't denied entry, but it still broke my heart to feel unwelcomed. Imagine if I had been a new Muslim revert sister? It would have sent a completely wrong message about Islam.
When Megahed (2022) wrote a paper titled "Is The Mosque a Male-dedicated Building?!", the author was onto something. We can't deny, sometimes it does feel that way. I understand the necessity of providing larger spaces for men, but I also wish they wouldn't forget about us ladies, or turn us away at the door when we wish to join them in prayer.
Ibn ‘Umar reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying; Do not prevent your women from visiting the mosque; but their houses are better for them (for praying).
Sunan Abi Dawud 567
Prophetic Example in Mosque Spatial Orientation
In Medina, during the time of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, an open space design was utilized where women simply prayed in rows behind the men starting from the back of the mosque AND without physical barriers at that.
But here we are 1400 years later, with some mosques that make the sisters' space feel like a last minute addition, or ones that do not tolerate female presence. All in all, these negative experiences can and already is making Muslim women feel like they have no place in the masjid, their rightful place of worship. Is this an evolution rooted in divine law, or a product of culture that became accepted as the norm?
Megahed (2022) wrote that the cause of this shift in praying arrangements is not exactly derived from religious rules, since the Sunnah tells a different story. But the prominent view taken by many scholars is one of segregation to prevent free mixing between the two genders which gave rise to the design “recipe” followed by many contemporary masjids.
I understand where they are coming from, I do. We are living in the age of fitnah (trials and temptations). Being Muslim certainly doesn't make us immune to the things happening around us, because we're only human.
However, I also believe there is a correct way to go about this whole “protection” of the ummah, and denying Muslim women entry to their rightful places of worship is definitely NOT the solution.
Disclaimer: of course not all mosques are discriminatory to women. Look at me, I still love my childhood masjid despite the segregated spaces because this arrangement also provided comfort and privacy to those who prefer it.
I remember when I was consulting my non-Muslim instructor regarding the topic of my analysis essay, she mentioned something quite profound, but also sad.
“Women often end up as afterthoughts.”
This is not a problem limited to places of worship.
I say, let's break that way of thinking. Let's not add more gasoline to the flames that pit the Muslim brothers against the Muslim sisters. What if instead we supported each other, pushed one another to be better?
And perhaps the first step to that is this: Don't treat women as afterthoughts.
Look back at the best example of masculinity that exists in our own tradition, that of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
The Prophet ﷺ said, "Whenever I start the prayer I intend to prolong it, but on hearing the cries of a child, I cut short the prayer because I know that the cries of the child will incite its mother's passions."
Sahih al-Bukhari 710
Religious Affiliation in the Philippines (2020 Census of Population and Housing). Accessed on July 3, 2025. https://psa.gov.ph/content/religious-affiliation-philippines-2020-census-population-and-housing
Megahed, Y. (2022). Is the mosque a male-dedicated building?! A Critical View on Women Praying Space in Contemporary Mosque Design. The Mosque: a Cross-cultural Building, Kuwait City: Abdullatif al fozan award for mosque architecture, college of architecture | Kuwait university, pp. 499-517.
Muslim Census. Accessed on July 3, 2025. https://muslimcensus.co.uk/muslim-womans-faith-experience/
✉️ [author's note]
this post took way too long to finish. Been struggling with writer's block. Today is Day of Ashura (10th Muharram) in the Philippines. I hope you're doing well.
I'm curious. How has your masjid experience been? Hopefully more pleasant. Any favourites, recommendations? Have you encountered the mosques that follow the design “recipe” mentioned above? What are your honest thoughts on it? Let me know 🗨️
not a single point missed. the fact that every change I have seen to the sisters section (despite them being very few) have only ever been initiated or done by sisters is honestly disgraceful. we deserve the right to worship within the house of Allah as much as any man! 🤍
this topic is so close to my heart bec i know how important it is to have female prayer space in the masjid.
the kind of focus and energy i feel in my salah when it’s behind an imam in congregation is unmatched! 🤍🤍