Saudi Arabia is considering allowing unchaperoned women to go on the hajj.

JEDDAH -- The government of Saudi Arabia is considering a radical change which would allow female pilgrims to perform the hajj without a male guardian, according to an Arab News report.

The hajj, from the Arabic word for pilgrimage, is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims. Every year in the last month of the Islamic calendar, more than a million people travel en masse to Mecca over a six-day period. For Saudi Arabia, it's a lucrative business-and a logistical nightmare.

Under present law, any woman under the age of 45 seeking a hajj visa must travel with a mahram-a male 'guardian,' generally related by blood. Women over 45 may travel with an 'organized group' instead, provided they are able to furnish the Saudi embassy with a 'no objection letter from her husband, son or brother authorizing her to travel for Hajj with the named group,' according to a Saudi government website. 'This letter should be notarized.'

Women who are not met by their sponsors have in the past not been allowed to enter the country or continue on other flights. Violating the policy may lead to deportation. The policy does not apply for women who are members of the minority Shia sect, which makes up about 10% of all Muslims: Shia scholars, unlike their Sunni peers, have ruled...