This story was reported by The Hindu on July 10, 2025.
Relief is what Tasnim Lodghar describes when she didn’t have to worry about the well being or the mental load of her 17-year-old child with cerebral palsy during the Ashara Mubaraka congregation, which was held in Chennai this year.
“It would require a lot of planning for the 10 days from co-ordinating the auto and looking after my son throughout the sermon. The first thought I had when I wanted to attend was how I would manage. The stress from planning alone was huge. But this time it had been organised with the specially-abled children in mind which helped me a lot. It helped me be present at the congregation,” said Tasnim Lodghar.
Held at the start of the Islamic month of Muharram, Ashara Mubaraka is an occasion marked by sermons and prayers in remembrance of Prophet Muhammed, his grandson Imam Husain, and his companions. This year, the congregation — led by Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the leader of the global Dawoodi Bohra community — returned to Chennai after 50 years, drawing tens of thousands of attendees from around the world to mark the occasion.
This year, the congregation saw 43,000 people, with over 120 children with disabilities participating. The brain child of the health wing of the Dawoodi Bohra community, the organisers paid extra focus to integrate the persons with disabilities - from providing a calming room to employing special educators and training volunteers.
“This time was different as we focused on specially-abled children and adults. We have created separate zones for them to enhance their experience,” said Hasan Kapi, member of the Dawoodi Bohra community.
In the congregation hall, three zones were marked for persons with disability. One zone was for hearing impaired people, where a sign language interpreter translated the entire sermon to them. The other two zones accommodate people with multi disorders such as autism, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, polio-affected child, visually-impaired and people with muscular dystrophies. There were seven special educators and 11 volunteers present to help them out.
Explaining the process of preparation Nafisa Manaf, a Chennai-based special educator who is part of the team said, “The preparation for the event began 15 days before it began on June 27. When the parents registered we looked into the severity of the disability in children. We communicated about the kind of food the child eats, their independence in using a toilet, crowd management. We worked with parents to know more about their needs.”
When the child affected with autism spectrum disorder gets agitated or overstimulated the special educators take note and remove them from the area to calm them down. “We take care of them and engage them to listen to the sermon. When they have periods of hyperactivity, we remove them from the zone and calm them in a separate calming room. There the children are engaged with sensory toys or some might want to run around to expend the energy. Once done, we bring them back to the hall,” she added.
The children have to sit through a sermon of four hours. As many as 120 children were identified as disabled but only 70 children were in the zones as they required more assistance.
The efforts paid off as Nafisa points out that the children adapted quickly and understood the routine. “The children were able to sit throughout the sermon. Many children with disabilities are sensitive to the food but by day three they were able to eat from the tal (community plate) with their families and others around them with no hassle,” she added.
