MADINAH — Markets in Madinah tend to hire female security guards to help women shoppers and provide them with necessary privacy. They also tend to hire female supervisors to ensure cleanliness in the markets' toilets and women's mosques. Female shoppers told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that such employees have made shopping experiences more pleasant. Rasha Al-Mutairi said female guards have helped reduce instances of harassment involving male shoppers and even the vendors. Maha Zine El-Abidine said women in the markets are sometimes harassed so much that security officers are forced to intervene. Female guards provide them with added confidence and privacy if they need it, she said, adding that the women security officers are also a deterrent to would-be harassers. El-Abidine said women guards could also be of help to shoppers in emergencies, such as accidents or injuries. They could be especially helpful to the pregnant, sick or elderly. Areej Awfi said the appointment of women guards in the markets would increase safety for women and children. She said the main problem women shoppers face inside shops is the fear that their privacy will not be respected. She said women shoppers are reluctant to use the toilets as they are often dirty and would prefer to wait until they get home, even if they are diabetics or suffer from other chronic conditions that require them to use the bathroom frequently. She said after female workers were employed to clean the toilets in the markets, shoppers have been able to take their time shopping. Umm Mahmoud, a cleaning supervisor at one of the markets in Madinah, said: “I have been working as a cleaning supervisor for the toilets and women's mosque inside the market for nearly three years and my job is to supervise cleaning workers, provide them with cleaning equipment and maintain hygiene standards.” Umm Mahmoud said she is a high school graduate and is paid a salary of over SR3,000 for working eight hours a day. She added that she was happy with her work even if it is seen as a job only done by foreigners. Umm Muhammad, who also works in one of the markets, said she is happy to do this kind of work as it helps her support her three children. She added: “I found a security guard job at a market and I hesitated at first, but finally accepted it and found it a unique experience.” Umm Muhammad, who gets paid more than SR3,000, helps women and children who are being harassed or injured for whatever reason. Kholoud, another security guard, never thought she would be taking on a male-dominated job. She said: “After I graduated I knocked on all doors looking for a job that would fit my qualifications, but I could not find any. “At last I found this job and I have been working as a guard for more than a year and it hasn't affected my family's stability.” She said her husband did not accept her new job at first, but relented after he saw how much she enjoyed her work. She added her duties include monitoring the market, arresting thieves, dealing with female beggars and intervening in harassment situations and defusing them quietly. Umm Asaad said she was happy with her work as a security guard at a market in Madinah. She, however, added that she was looking for a job that would match her qualifications. She said she could be fired at any time and would probably have decided to stay on if there had been better job security. M.H., a security supervisor at a market in Madinah, described her job as good and important, as it gave female shoppers confidence when dealing with women security guards. She accepted there was a lack of job security, but added as long as the guards did their job properly, they would not be fired. Other security guards urged labor offices to use more female security guards in markets help tackle unemployment.
