The annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, required of able-bodied Muslims once in their life, brings the Islamic world together across its many languages, ethnicities and individual beliefs — something seen across the many faces of its female faithful.

Arabs, Africans, Asians, Europeans and those from the Americas all followed what tradition holds is the path of the Prophet Muhammad up Jabal al-Rahma, or the Mountain of Mercy. There, the Quran says the prophet delivered his final sermon calling for equality, unity and women's rights.

Women also walked along the path believed to be followed by Abraham's wife, Hagar, when she found the Zamzam water spring to save her son.

Wanting to follow those examples, a 25-year-old Ghanaian woman who gave her name only as Fatma over concerns about her personal safety carried her infant son Hisou slung over her back, walking long distances in a show of piety.

In this Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016 photo, Fatma, 25, from Ghana carries her son Hisou as she poses for a photograph in Arafat during the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Fatma walked with her son from Madina to Mecca to… — In this Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016 photo, Fatma, 25, from Ghana carries her son Hisou as she poses for a photograph in Arafat during the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Fatma walked with her son from Madina to Mecca to Arafat and will complete her pilgrimage by walking and not using any vehicles. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

"I walked from Medina to Mecca to Arafat and I will continue to Muzdalifa then to Mina, carrying my son on my back because this is my faith to do it the right way," she said.

During the hajj, women wear the hijab, a scarf to cover their hair in deference to God. Some decide to return home and continue covering their hair in respect. But for others, their faith isn't tied to the scarf.

"I am not convinced that hijab is a must and sign of faith," said 36-year-old Lebanese woman Dalia, who gave only her first name out of concern of her views affecting her career. "I have been treating people in a way I believe is ethical and human. I will continue to do so after the hajj."

Although gender inequality persists today in parts of the Muslim world, women played a prominent part in the founding of Islam, with the Prophet Muhammad's wife, Khadijah, becoming its first convert. And today, the women who took part in this year's hajj say they found a peace and fulfillment for taking part in the pilgrimage.

"The hajj to me is a combination of childhood dreams coming true and it has taught me unity and diversity," said 29-year-old South African Fathima Akoo.

Here is a selection of images by Associated Press photographer Nariman El-Mofty showing the diversity among the women who took part in this year's hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

In this Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016 photo, an African woman makes her way alone through the crowd towards a rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Arabs, Africans, Asians, Europeans and those from the Americas all followed what tradition holds is the path of the Prophet Muhammad up Jabal al-Rahma, or the Mountain of Mercy. There, the Quran says the prophet delivered his final sermon calling for equality, unity and women’s rights. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016 photo, an Iraqi woman uses her prayer beads to make tasbeeh, or meditation, inside the women's camp in Arafat during the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016 photo, 36-year old Dalia from Lebanon takes off her hijab to start performing Wudu, a ritual of washing before prayer, inside an only women's camp in Mina, Saudi Arabia. "I am not convinced that hijab is a must and sign of faith. I have been treating people with what I believe is ethical and human. I will continue to do so after the hajj. The Hajj was an opportunity though to look deep into myself and rediscover my faith and maybe to recall its importance in my life. I learned again how to pray after I stopped for more than 25 years," says Dalia on her experience during the hajj. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016 photo, Indonesian women make their way down after prayer on a rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016 photo, 60-year old Mariam Abdel Karim from Sudan poses for a photograph as she prays on a rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Karim walked from Madina to Mecca to Arafat and will complete her pilgrimage by walking. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016 photo, an Egyptian woman prays inside the women's camp in Arafat during the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The pilgrimage, required of able-bodied Muslims once in their life, brings the Islamic world together across its many languages, ethnicities and individual beliefs. That’s something seen across the many faces of its female faithful. Many who took part in this year’s pilgrimage described finding peace and fulfillment by taking part in it.(AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016 photo, a Saudi woman teaches Islam to women in Al-Masjid an-Nabawi or Prophet Muhammad's Mosque, which situates Muhammad's tomb, in Medina, Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016 photo, 70-year old Fatma Mohammed from upper Egypt poses for a photograph as she rests in her tent in Arafat, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Mohammed arrived by bus with a group to make her first Hajj pilgrimage. "The hajj was a lifetime dream for me," says Mohammed. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2016 photo, Saudi women cast stones at a pillar symbolizing the stoning of Satan, in a ritual called "Jamarat," the last rite of the annual hajj, in Mina near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The annual hajj pilgrimage, required of able-bodied Muslims once in their life, brings the Islamic world together across its many languages, ethnicities and individual beliefs _ something seen across the many faces of its female faithful. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016 photo, a Saudi girl gets caught in the crowd of women visiting Al-Masjid an-Nabawi or Prophet Muhammad's Mosque, which situates Muhammad's tomb, as she looks for her mother, in Medina, Saudi Arabia. During the hajj, women wear the hijab, a scarf to cover their hair in deference to God. Some decide to return home and continue covering their hair in respect. But for others, their faith isn’t tied to the scarf. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016 photo, Amria from Dagestan, Russia, poses for a photograph near the Kaaba, Islam's holiest site, at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The annual hajj pilgrimage, required of able-bodied Muslims once in their life, brings the Islamic world together across its many languages, ethnicities and individual beliefs _ something seen across the many faces of its female faithful. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016 photo, 28-year old Sarah from Morocco takes a moment after removing her hijab and rests on a chair after arriving from camps in Arafat and Mina and finishing her pilgrimage, at a hotel in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. "It's been quite a shock for me to discover that Mecca has been transformed in a giant mall. But aside of that the most incredible part was seeing people literally from every single part of the world standing all together in formation making rakat, a prayer movement, all at once," says Sarah on her experience during the hajj. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

In this Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016 photo, Syrian women from Hama make their way down after prayer on a rocky hill known as the Mountain of Mercy, on the Plain of Arafat, during the annual hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

Text from the AP News story, AP PHOTOS: The many faces of the female faithful at the haj, by Nariman El-Mofty

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