After feeling unwelcome in Mosques, two women start their own.

A women’s-only Mosque has opened  in Los Angeles to ensure that women feel comfortable in practising their faith.

January 30 was a historic day for women of Muslim faith in the United States as crowds gathered from around the country to take part in the first female-only Jumu’ah – the call to prayer.

The women-led Mosque takes place in an interfaith centre in L.A and was created by lawyer Sana Muttalib and comedy writer Hasna Maznavi in response to the discomfort that some women feel in many Mosques, the co-presidents told The Huffington Post.

It is believed the mosque is the first of its kind in the Western world – China and India already have Mosques that cater directly to women.

Read more: This non-Muslim woman is wearing a headscarf for all the right reasons.

As the first prayer session took place last Friday, Muttalib was met with applause when she announced to the crowd “we will not be policing any bodies,” according to Religion Dispatches.

“As a young girl, my mother and father taught me that Islam was a religion that promoted equality among classes, races and sexes. With time, I realised that the egalitarian spirit of Islam that I loved so much was not always upheld or applied in Muslim spaces,” Muttalib told The Huffington Post.

In many mosques, women are expected to sit apart from men and take side entrances. They rarely have a chance to get further involved, according to Muttalib and Manavi.

“Women do not often get a chance to access the male imam for questions or discussions after prayer, because he is in the men’s section and is inaccessible until a later time,” they told The Huffington Post.

The women’s only Mosque does allow children, including boys, to get involved – but men are strictly prohibited from prayer.

However, men will be welcomed and encouraged to take part in the many female-led events and conversations to be hosted by the centre.

Female exclusion from religion is of course not exclusive to Mosques as women have historically been isolated from Synagogues, Churches and Mosques alike.

Read more: An open letter to Christians. From a pastor who has defended the rights of Muslims.

However this move does come as women are increasingly finding a place across major religions as seen with the Church of England’s appointment of its first female bishop late last December.