Originally a comment by Theo Bromine on Mubarak dehydration month.

I was wondering about the rules for kids, and found the following:

1. Children before the age of seven should be encouraged to fast (without fasting the full day) and to love these acts of worship. They can pretend what it is like to fast for an hour, for example.

2. After seven, it is recommended for the child to fast, but not necessarily for the full day nor everyday. The emphasis on fasting should be increased until the child reaches ten.

3. At ten, the child should be expected to fast.

Other sites quoted scholars saying that a child over 10 “should be made to fast and … Read the rest

Maryam has plans for this matter of forced fasting (and deyhdrating) in Ramadan:

24 JUNE 2016: FAST DEFYING PROTEST DURING RAMADAN

On 24 June, from 17:00-19:00 hours, we will be organising an “eat-in” at the Saudi and Iranian embassies in London in solidarity with those defying fasting rules during Ramadan.

This is hugely important given that there are many people across the globe who are arrested, beaten and fined for eating during the month; many others are pressured into fasting, including in Europe. Join us at the ‘eat-in’ if you can.

Alternately, you can upload photos of yourself eating during fasting times or holding signs with messages of solidarity using hashtag: #IWillNotFast #لن_اص= م #روزه خوارى #Ramadan until the= end

In Pakistan and a number of other countries, it’s against the law to drink and eat in public (and “in public” means where anyone can see and report you, so I suspect it means at home too if you have windows). IBTimes reported last June:

The death toll from a weeklong heat wave in Karachi, Pakistan, has risen to 1,233, officials told the Associated Press Saturday. Some 65,000 people flooded the city’s hospitals to be treated for heat stroke, and about 1,900 patients were still receiving medical care as the country began to cool off.

Pakistan’s laws forbid people [to drink] and [eat] in public in daylight during Ramadan. As the heat wave has continued — and worsened —

I’ve heard from a couple of friends of Muslim background who say the dehydration issue is indeed a problem, and generally ignored.

Deutsche Welle reported a year ago:

More than 1,100 people have already died of dehydration in Pakistan’s scorching temperatures. The risk is made worse because devout Muslims don’t eat or drink anything between sunrise and sunset during Ramadan.

It’s hot in Pakistan. Over the last few days, it’s been as hot as 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) in the shade and thousands of people are being treated in hospitals. Most of the more than 1,100 casualties have been recorded in the port city of Karachi, Pakistani health authorities report. Military and civilian aid organizations have set