Contrarius Series: Law & Social Justice
Vol. 1 No. 2 (2026): Contrarius Series: Law & Social Justice

Structural Aspects of Shariah-Compliant, Women-Friendly Mosques: Towards a Generalizable Design Framework




Article Info

Publish Date
10 Mar 2026

Abstract

Mosques function as vital spaces for sustained worship and community engagement; however, structural provisions for women’s religious and communal activities are often inadequately addressed or insufficiently aligned with Shariah requirements. This inadequacy constitutes a core problem, as non-compliant or poorly designed architectural features may hinder women’s participation and compromise adherence to Islamic legal principles. Accordingly, this study addresses the problem by systematically examining structural design aspects and synthesizing them into a generalizable framework for Shariah-compliant, women-friendly mosque design. This article analyzes mosque design features that fulfill Shariah requirements for women, particularly regarding the preservation of modesty and privacy, ʿawrah, and the practical needs of women’s religious activities. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative approach comprising document analysis and observation, complemented by semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders from mosque institutions. The findings indicate that improving mosque design toward outcomes that are women-friendly and Shariah-compliant requires the development of dedicated guidelines specifying spaces for worship and women’s religious and community activities, thereby aligning mosque environments with Shariah obligations for women.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

LSJCP

Publisher

Subject

Education Energy Environmental Science Health Professions Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice Public Health Social Sciences

Description

Contrarius Series: Law & Social Justice is an Proceedings Open Access publication series dedicated to archiving conference proceedings in all areas related to Law, Crime, Environment, Energy, Education, Economic, Tourism and Social Justice. The Contrarius Series: Law & Social Justice covers the ...