In the light of a woman’s perspective I have heard that a woman could travel without a mahram a journey upto 3 days and night by herself as narrated by hadith. Most likely this was when people used horses as their fastest mode of travel. That scenario also leaves a woman alone for three consecutive nights! Now that we have airplanes that could take you around the world in less than 3 days. Do you think a woman can travel to any part of the world all by herself in plane? A woman gets on the plane in the morning and no night comes in the journey as you are traveling towards the sun. How about this thought could a woman take a mahram who is not adult yet? For example her young son. Could Ulema do ijtehad on that and make the lives of women easy and if you think it is Shaitan instilling these evil thoughts in me please advise me.
Three days and nights of traveling in those days is equal to 48 miles of today’s traveling, hence, it will be compulsory for a woman to be accompanied by an adult male Mahram for any journey above 48 miles, whether on road or by place, etc.
and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai