AN official spokesman for the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) told Al-Riyadh newspaper in a statement on Tuesday that the employment of women in the Haia was still under study and a decision has not been taken yet. He said in the same statement that more than 2,700 new field jobs have been approved for the Haia and they will all be exclusively for men. The idea to employ women in the Haia has stemmed from the need to reach places that men are not allowed to enter. The Haia needs female members to access these places in order to prevent misdemeanors that may be against Shariah. The Haia will face no legal obstacles if it were to employ women. Many government departments such as the passports, customs, civil affairs and others employ women. However, if the Haia hires women, it will face a host of issues. A few days ago, there was a dispute between the Haia and Princess Nora Bint Abdulrahman University. The Haia wanted to open a branch office on the campus, which the university was not willing to accept. The university is purely for women. No men are allowed on the campus even if they are academics or workers in the field of transport and maintenance. This ban will of course be extended to the Haia's male members as well. This has increased the Haia's need to employ women and, therefore, they are studying the issue seriously. However, the study will not be completed no matter how long it continues because there will always be problems facing the employment of women in the Haia. The woman field member will not have a four-wheel drive car to chase violators because she is not allowed to drive. She will have to run after the violators on foot and to do this, she has to be athletic, when in fact, she is not. The Haia is against women's sports, so its women members will not have the opportunity to maintain their physical fitness that will help them chase violators on foot. Women's movement inside the Haia's offices to complete office work will be extremely restricted because it will stir the possibility of gender mixing, which the Haia is fighting. Female field members will also have to be present at public rallies or gatherings, which is an issue that has always been rejected by the Haia. Society is used to accepting mistakes and excesses committed by the Haia's male members, but it will not be ready to accept mistakes by women. Therefore, I do not think the study being undertaken by the Haia to employ women will be completed in the near future. The matter requires more than a study; it needs an entire research institute to answer a simple question: What if women become real partners in this life?
