On Wednesday, an estimated 2 million Muslims converged on Mecca to begin the annual hajj pilgrimage. As they make their way through the week, tens of thousands will turn each day to a help hotline for solving problems. And when they do, they’re likely to be surprised by what they hear on the other end of the phone: the voice of a woman.

For the first time in profoundly conservative Saudi Arabia, a handful of women are helping staff an emergency call center. Safety is a concern at the hajj, where more than 100,000 security personnel are on hand. Memories are still fresh of a stampede that killed more than 2,000 people in 2015, and the Islamic State has targeted Mecca twice in the past year.

But security comes in other forms as well – and Saudi Arabia is taking an eye-catching if small step to include women in providing it. Staff at the communications center answer needs that are both urgent and less so – and for the first time, female pilgrims who want a woman to address their need have a chance of finding one.

Even as tensions roil the region where they are gathered, hajj pilgrims strive to focus on the ties that bind the global Muslim community – Shiite or Sunni, Sufi or Salafi, Arab, Persian, Asian, or European. This year, women, while they may be operating well behind the scenes, are getting a new opportunity to add their voices to that worthy goal.

Like all of you, we’re watching the southeastern US grapple with Harvey, as other parts of the world cope with flooding of their own. On our website, we’ve assembled some worthwhile reads. (Click here.)

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