ONE of the biggest challenges facing Saudi women in society is acceptance of their work. Many people, especially men, oppose women's work and believe that women should stay at home and take care of their children. However, Saudi women have proved their capability in several fields and some of them work in the security and military sector, Al-Riyadh daily reports. Hanan Al-Ouwayed, a Customs officer, said women who want to work in the security and military sector are facing huge opposition from society. Among the reasons for such opposition are the perceived incapability of women to handle several security tasks and the nature of work, which requires security officers to work both day and night shifts. "Saudi women working as security officers are facing great difficulty in convincing members of the public of the important role they play in the security and military sector. Some people doubt women's capability to handle the rigors of their job. In fact, there are customized training courses for female security officers," she explained. She has taken several courses herself on how to frisk women and bust drugs. Society is in dire need of female security officers. Some women officers work as prison wardens while others work as security guards in government facilities. "Both men and women security guards and officers are treated the same in terms of salary and promotion, she said. Women cannot work as border guards, dog handlers, or narcotics officers; this kind of work involves a lot of risks and dangers that women cannot handle by themselves," Al-Ouwayed. Raeda Al-Dawsari, a public relations officer and a human rights activist, believes that one of the major obstacles women, who are interested in working in the security field, is the work shifts, which will have a negative impact on their families and social relations. "Unfortunately, most people in our society seem to pigeonhole women into roles like teachers or housewives. In fact, men do not encourage their women to venture into the security sector because they do not want to let their wives stay out for long hours and neglect taking care of children," she said. Hoda Al-Sailan, a psychologist, agrees that most women working in this sector seem to face a great deal of pressure due to the nature of their work and challenges of the job. Some of them feel tensed and worried, and some have even suffered severe depression. "It is important to select female candidates who are fit for this kind of job and ask them to undergo psychological tests to know if they can deal with the pressure of the work. Training programs are as important and will help candidates decide if they are cut out for the job, Al-Sailan said. "It is difficult for women to juggle between household chores and work assignments at the same time. Many of them cannot do it and end up in the middle. Their work will affect their role as mothers and wives and cause them problems in the family. At some point, they will need psychological support to get over the tension. But some pull it off," she explained.
