Tucson, USA - For the first time since Tucson's largest mosque was completed in 1990, women there may pray regularly in view of the imam and other leaders.
The option of added visibility for Muslim women in Tucson is occurring amid a changes in women's roles in Islam.
In August, Ingrid Mattson became the first female president of the Islamic Society of North America. And last year a gender-dividing wall at the Islamic Society of San Francisco was razed.
In 2005, Muslim women led a mixed-gender prayer group in New York City.
"It's a period of flux for women in Islam right now," said Georgetown University professor Yvonne Y. Haddad, who teaches the history of Islam and is conducting research on Muslims in the West.
"Women are becoming spokespersons of Islam.... The men have sort of disappeared. With American government surveillance, they've been targeted or feel they are being spied on, that they could be dragged into jail. Women are becoming more active and outspoken, and more women are going to mosques."
The Tucson mosque, with about 1,000 mostly Sunni worshippers, has a long tradition of separating men and women with gender-specific entrances.
Men have used the front door to access the main worship area. Women have used a small room accessible by a side door, where they listen to the prayer leader via an audio system.
The women's room has windows, but except on special occasions, they're covered with blinds.
In recent years, the mosque partitioned off a small corner at the back of the main prayer room for women, but kept the imam out of view with a curtain.
It wasn't enough access for several young women at the Tucson mosque.
They told Tricia Pethic, 22, the only woman on the mosque board of directors, that it was difficult to fully engage in prayer guided only by a disembodied voice.
Pethic took the concerns to the board, and late last year the mosque began allowing a section of the rolling curtain to stay open.
"We just decided we should offer women a choice," Pethic said. "I prefer to see, because I am used to mosques where I can see."
She and other women at the mosque said they're satisfied with the change, and with the support they received from the men. The younger women who felt frustrated by the separate room now can fully participate.
"I feel more secure knowing I can see what is going on a few yards ahead of me," said Yusra Tekbali, 22, a University of Arizona senior.
Tekbali said that in the days of the Prophet Muhammad there were no barriers. Rather, the women prayed a few feet behind the men.
Praying in a side room isn't Islam, concurred Esther Sharif, 46, who stopped going to the Islamic Center several years ago because of the prayer setup.
"I commend the ladies who took a stand. They are understanding their religion," she said.