What is the ruling on a woman passing in front of the rows of female congregants, and does that nullify their prayer and necessitate repeating it with the Imam?

It is true that the passing of a woman, a donkey, and a black dog invalidates the prayer of a person praying alone and that of an Imam if there is no sutrah (barrier) in front of them. This is based on the hadith of Abu Dharr: "If one of you stands to pray, then a sutrah the size of the back of a saddle is sufficient for him. If there is nothing in front of him the size of the back of a saddle, then the prayer is invalidated by a donkey, a woman, and a black dog." (Narrated by Muslim).

However, this ruling does not apply to the congregants praying behind the Imam, as the Imam's sutrah serves as a sutrah for those behind him. The proof for this is the hadith of Ibn Abbas, who passed by riding a she-donkey in front of some rows while the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was leading the people in prayer in Mina, and no one objected to him doing so (Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim). Ibn Abd al-Barr said that it does not harm the congregant if someone passes in front of him, because the Imam's sutrah is a sutrah for those behind him. Therefore, warding off and preventing passage is specific to the Imam and the person praying alone, for anyone who wishes to pass between them and their sutrah.