Many of these photographers, in their quest to make more money, sell copies of the films to studios and women beauty centers who will in turn put them on CDs and sell to buyers longing to see what Saudi women do in their special parties.

The issue came to light recently when the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Madinah confiscated a number of CDs containing films about wedding parties. The CDs were found in a studio run by a number of foreign workers who told investigators that they received the media from foreign female photographers.

The investigations proved that a group of non-Saudi Arab women specialized in video production and photography recorded a number of wedding parties for women and sold the tapes to the studio which copied them on CDs.

According to the commission, a total of 293 CDs were found in the studio run by studio workers. It said the studio sold the CDs to a third party who in turn sold them to interested buyers.

A young Saudi woman, who wanted to be known by her initials M.S., told Arab News that a foreign woman photographer took pictures of her with other relatives during a family occasion but she came to know after a while that a foreign worker was caught with thousands of photographs of young Saudi girls with him.

"I was so scared. If my family came to know that my photograph was for sale, they would not hesitate to kill me," she said.

S.H., another young Saudi woman, said while on a visit to a photography shop in Madinah, she saw thousands of photos of Saudi women before a foreign worker hid them.

"What would prevent this worker from copying the photos and selling them to interested buyers?" she said.

N.G., a Saudi woman photographer, admitted that some women photographers had no work ethic and would do anything to earn more money.

N.T., a Saudi female photographer, said most of those who sell photos of wedding parties were foreign photographers who are less costly to contract.

"Families who want to document their happy occasions should go to respected studios to provide them with trustworthy photographers," she advised.

A spokesman of the commission warned Saudis and expatriates to be very vigilant when contracting with women photographers. "The photography shops should also be carefully watched for any such violations," he said.

Muhammad Al-Johani, an owner of a wedding hall in Madinah, said they are aware that some women photographers sell their photos to other studios. "We often try to prevent unidentified women photographers from entering the hall but the families would allow them," he said.