Thankfully, I haven’t prayed here so this photo was submitted by a dear friend who prays here regularly.
This is the view afforded to Muslim women praying tarawih organized by the Islamic Heritage Center in the cafeteria of Kilmer Middle School in Vienna, Va.
The makeshift partition is composed of the cafeteria tables folded upright covered with a green sheet.
Ify Okoye 
Come pray Taraweeh at the Islamic Center of Orono, Maine. There are no partitions, but there is a fold out screen if a sister(s) prefers one. There are separate entrances to the masjid for men and women. The sisters entrance has benches outside and is equally as accommodating as the men’s section. AlhamduLillah, the masjid was designed to give sisters equal access to the masjid, actually more so because the sisters have a separate room if they wish and are closer to the kitchen! 🙂 Ramadan Mubarak.
Abdus Sabur, insha’allah, one day I will visit the Islamic Center in Orono, Maine. Good to hear about the egalitarian nature of your mosque.
Someone asked me if I wanted “equal spaces” but I’m not so focused on the actual dimensions in terms of millimeters and square inches but on what experience that space imbibes about respect and dignity and equality of consideration.
Ramadan Kareem!
For Shame!
Indeed!
What are you shaming?
Might as well cover all the sisters with a big blanket lol.
At my local masjid, Islamic Center of Long Island, the women’s section is directly behind the men’s. Half of it is covered by a curtain while the other have is open, so sister’s can choose based on their preference. Seems like a better option.
I like choice and masjid spaces that afford the most choice. When next I’m downstate will have to do some more masjid-hopping, insha’Allah. I think I read a story about the Islamic Center of Long Island in the NY Times awhile back.
Asalaamu’alaikum,
This is preferable to the sisters having no privacy and the men being able to see them. This is also setup by the sisters and they would rather have it this way.
Sorry forgot to also mention this is a temporary prayer area at Kilmer Middle School which is setup as best as the given area allows. At the regular center where we offer daily prayers the women’s prayer area is setup similar to the men’s prayer area and is nice. Rather than making posts against masjids or trying to make negative assumptions like this you should try to come visit the masjid since it is in your area.
This campaign of posting a close up on a table and saying nothing else only tries to imply something negative about a masjid that has a very strong sisters section and respects it’s sisters more than most masjids. We should especially be careful that we are not wronging our brothers and sisters or the houses of Allah through posts like this that are biased and inaccurate (or at least not onest by being incomplete)
May Allah guide us and forgive us, ameen.
Ali,
A sister who attended tarawih prayers there last year took this the photo as this was the view she was afforded and she did not seem to appreciate the setup. If you have some other photos, feel free to pass them along.
As for me, if I have the option, I generally choose not to pray in a place with a setup that I feel is degrading to me as a believer and as human being and as a woman.