The definition of Islamic rules concerning women's employment was the center of debate during the Seventh National Dialogue that opened in Buraidah on Tuesday. Participants discussed Islamic regulations on employing women, whether they need to be defined or left to individual interpretation. Some participants said there was a need to clearly define Islamic regulations on employing women, while others said that the labor market should be fully open to women. “We need to have clearly stated regulations for companies to follow,” said Huda Al-Jeiresy, Chairwoman of the National Committee for Women at the Saudi Council for the Chambers of Commerce and Industry. “There are regulations now, but they contradict each other, leaving too much leeway for business owners in different provinces to interpret these regulations depending on their own cultural conditions.” Nada Al-Ateegi, Deputy General Manager at the Kingdom Center, agrees. “Not only do we need to define these conditions,” she said, “but we also need to give one singular government body the authority to implement them.” Nadia Al-Dossary, the CEO of a saudi company, said there are no clear-cut regulations for her to follow. “We have general terms,” she said, “but they are not defined clearly, making it very elastic for people to manipulate and interpret them as they wish.” She added that because of this, many businesses were unwilling to hire Saudi women. “I want to employ Saudi women, but such regulations make it impossible,” she said. While gender segregation used to be a clear regulation in the previous labor law, it was removed from the new law after the Kingdom joined the WTO, said Jairesy. “In the new labor law, we have a clause which states that women and men should have working conditions that abide by Shariah, without saying anything about segregation,” she said. “However, there is a clause which states that any issue not covered in the new labor law should be addressed according to the old law. She says that since no new regulation has been issued on segregation, the law obligates businesses to go by the old labor law. “Problem is, each business in each region interprets the law according to their own beliefs or needs, which is why we need the Ministry of Labor to clarify such issues,” said Jeiresy.What they should do Other participants disagreed with Dossary, Jeiresy, and Ateegi “There are no Islamic regulations placed on men who want to work, so why should there be ones on women,” asked Suhair Farahat, Assistant Professor of Administration and Planning at King Abdul Aziz University. Aisha Natto, another Saudi CEO, agrees. “There is no need for an Islamic regulation for women's work,” she said. “This is a matter of personal and moral choice. If they want to cover while working in mixed workplaces or dress in any style, it's up to them.” Just as men do not have Islamic regulations governing how they work and where, she added, women should be left to their own common sense.What they can do Participants also addressed the limited fields of employment open to women. While some called for opening all fields to women, others wanted only those deemed suitable for women to be opened. Natto brought up the issue of limited licenses Saudi women can obtain to open businesses. “A female pharmacist can work as pharmacist, but can't open her own pharmacy,” she said. “Opticians can take up to seven years to get their medical degrees, but women can't open optical shops. The same goes for administration graduates, who can be administrators but not managers if they start their own business.” Jeiresy agreed. “There are a lot of contradictions between what various government agencies say and do,” she said. “For example, it is against the law to open beauty salons, while we have 50 new government programs that teach beauty courses.” Sheikh Abdul-Muhsin Al-Obaikan, a prominent Islamic scholar, member of the Shoura Council and advisor at the Ministry of Justice, received a series of applauses from the women for his comments. “There is no Islamic reason why women can't work,” he said. “The only condition is that there is no ‘khalwah' (a man and a woman alone in a room) and that she abides by Islamic practice.” He called on agencies to facilitate women's employment to conduct their work by themselves through opening women's branches in government agencies and courts. Participants also called for establishing nurseries and day care centers for working women. “Transportation is the main problem women face at wok,” said Hala Al-Shaier, Deputy manager of The First Charitable Organization in Madina. Shaier suggests building a public transportation system only for women. “This will solve many problems without creating new ones,” she said. Upon concluding the National Dialogue Meeting, the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue, organizing the event, will collect every participant's comments and input and present them to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and ministers. __
