Defying usual convention, a mosque in Shillong has opened itself to women praying alongside men. In the Idgah Masjid, women offer Friday prayers in a mosque for the first time anywhere in the North East. "In the tenet of Islam, it's nowhere written that women cannot go to mosque, when we go to Haj, we used to pray together. The mother and sisters are the ones who can teach the new generation about Islam," said Syedul, general secretary, Shillong Muslim Union.