Can a woman lead the prayer for other women?

Yes — according to the majority of scholars, a woman may lead a congregation composed only of women in prayer, standing within their line rather than out in front as a male imam would. This is grounded in the report that the Prophet ﷺ permitted Umm Waraqah, a companion who had memorized the Quran, to lead the people of her household in prayer (Sunan Abi Dawud 592). Building on this, jurists such as Imam al-Shafi'i and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal explicitly endorsed women leading other women in prayer, while some Hanafi and Maliki scholars considered it merely permissible rather than especially encouraged. Where scholars differ is on whether a woman may lead a mixed congregation of men and women — the overwhelming majority view holds that she may not, reserving that specific role for men, while a small minority of contemporary voices have argued otherwise. Within women-only prayer settings, though, female leadership in prayer has clear precedent and broad scholarly acceptance, and many mosques and Islamic centers today have women lead sisters' prayer groups or Quran study circles on this basis.

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