MALAPPURAM (KERALA): A 34-year-old woman has led Jumu’ah, a Friday prayerservice of Muslims, here in Kerala, claimed to be the first in the historyof the country.

Jamitha, the general secretary of Quran Sunnat Societylink>, took the role ofthe ‘imam’ of the prayers held at the office of the Society in theMuslim-dominated district yesterday.

Jumu’ah, the congregational prayer held every Friday, is usually led by men.

Around 80 people, including women, gathered to attend the prayers, led bythe woman ‘Imam’, the Society sources said.

Jamitha, known as ‘Jamitha teacher’ among her fellow people, said the HolyQuran never discriminates between men and women and Islam never stops womenfrom being ‘imams’.

“It is for the first time that a woman is leading Jumu’ah in the history ofour country. It was held at the central committee office of our Society,where we used to gather every Friday for the prayers,” she told PTI.

It was not mandatory for the Jumu’ah to be held only at mosques, she said.

Hailing from Thiruvananthapuram, Jamitha also said she would continue tolead the prayer service on Fridays.

The radical move has kicked up a wide debate for and against the practiseof a woman leading Jumu’ah, on the social media.