JEDDAH, 24 July 2005 — The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice never has and will never employ women, said a source at the commission.
The emphatic denial came in response to enquiries about a report carried by Al-Riyadh Arabic newspaper recently claiming that the commission is studying establishing a unit for its female employees to perform their duties concerning women violators.
The newspaper quoted a source at the commission as saying that the job of the female members of the commission would be, if the unit was approved, to assist in apprehending and advising women in violation of rules within the commission’s authority. The female members would remove some of the awkwardness for the male members in dealing with women and entering places designated for women or places suspected of having women in them illegally.
They would also spread the commission’s principles according to Shariah. The article stated that the study would determine the possibility of establishing the unit based on Shariah regulations for women to be members and to conduct their duties.
The study would also define the female members’ role in participating with the men when entering places to follow up on complaints or tips — such as women tailor shops, shopping centers, amusement parks and wedding halls.
Officials at the commission headquarters in Riyadh refused to answer questions on whether it is conducting this study and whether they do have women working for them now and if not, why not. However, a commission member who did not wish to be named said, “The commission never has and never will employ women in an official capacity. The women you sometimes see accompanying the commission’s men in their jeep are their wives or sisters volunteering to act as advisers to other women in public places.”
Women employed at the Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah are not members of the commission but rather are employees of the General Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques’ Affairs, explained the source.
Another source with the commission said that this proposal of employing women has been made before but was turned down by the head of the commission.
