Muslim Women Protest Through Prayer at D.C. Mosque

On Feb. 20, four Muslim women took a conspicuous step to protest gender segregation in Muslim mosques by refusing to relegate themselves to a cordoned-off prayer zone for women—which one of them ruefully called the “penalty box”—and instead worshiped with the men at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C. Their presence did not go unnoticed.  —KA

The Daily Beast:

Defiantly, they continued to pray behind a row of men at the front of the mosque, when their numbers unexpectedly quadrupled. A tour group of about 100 Muslims, including about 30 women, from Hagerstown, Maryland, had hurriedly entered after the prayer had already began, unsuspectingly joining the protesters.

But the mood shifted when mosque officials called the cops.

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YouTube via The Daily Beast

This still from video footage of the Feb. 20 pray-in at the Islamic Center of Washington shows four Muslim women in the main prayer area worshiping with men.