An earlier article by a woman emphasized the need to employ women in the police force. The writer cited the rapid changes the country has experienced and various areas that call for women to be involved in maintaining security.
This is undeniably true. The presence of a female police force has become a pressing need in light of the changes that have transformed Saudi society. It is time to allow women to serve as police officers and play their roles in law enforcement, serving on the streets and in public places such as markets, hotels, amusement parks and wedding halls.
In the absence of security personnel in sites for women, things happen but no immediate action is taken. By the time the police is called, valuable time is lost and the damage done. In some cases, the women involved take no action for fear of publicity. They prefer to suffer silently instead of calling the police.
The spread of education and the need for jobs have resulted in increasing numbers of women looking for work. Our insistence, however, on seeing ourselves as a society with a “special status” which makes us different from others has prevented us from moving forward. For decades, we have deluded ourselves with the belief that we were special, forcing us to depend on foreign workers, unwisely spending our wealth and refusing certain jobs.
These days we see women doing some police work, especially at airports where women search female passengers, at the Two Holy Mosques where they help maintain order and in prisons where they work with women in jail. Why not allow more women to work in this area by opening women’s police sections in many places? Women could search cars, especially in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in the country that have spared no one.
The matter does not require the commissioning of studies or the formation of committees. There is no reason to believe that Islam forbids the presence of such a force. Our religion regards it as a great sin for men to search women or intimidate them.
Protecting the country and its people should come ahead of any other consideration and this requires joint efforts by both men and women.
