The fatwa coincided with a decision to Saudize Qur’an teachers in Makkah province. I was hoping that the council would assume an active role in sharing the worries relating to Qur’an lessons. I was hoping that they would advise young men and women to work as teachers and administrators at Qur’an schools.

I was hoping that this Saudization of teachers would come in steps. I was hoping that they would encourage the Ministry of Islamic Affairs to allocate sufficient funds for Qur’an schools so that they can pay Saudi teachers who take on this profession full-time salaries enough to lead a decent life.

I was hoping the council would outline rules and regulations for companies to adhere to when employing women. Such regulations should be monitored and enforced, and women should be trained to work in these positions. Isn’t having rules and regulations governing women who work in hospitals, commercial places and amusement parks better than permanently banishing them from workplaces?

Women who do not follow these regulations should be punished and sacked. Those who try to harass women should also be punished according to Shariah law, but women should not be banned from work.

The fatwa shocked me. Are the people in the Saudi Council of Senior Scholars unaware of women buying and selling on sidewalks around the Grand Mosque and in old Jeddah markets such as Souk Al-Yemen? Do they not know that women work for the Passport Department and elsewhere? Are these scholars not living with us and do not know what is happening around them? Why is it lawful for women to work in the sun but not inside air-conditioned offices that are better organized and monitored? Do Muslim scholars from other countries agree with this fatwa? What is the impact of this fatwa on other people? Are they going to come closer to our scholars and trust them or will it divert them to scholars from other countries?

I wish our scholars were realistic about the needs of society and would work with the government to guide our young men and women in what they need. Why do they deprive our women from jobs that they desperately need? Our women can work according to rules and regulations, and under the supervision of the authorities, which can enforce these regulations. I wish the scholars would issue a fatwa against men who harass women in public; I urge the responsible authorities to stop them.