Faisal, the Emir of Makkah, reiterated that the Ministry of Labor is the only authority responsible for the application of rules governing women's employment in businesses. Prince Khalid's directives came in a memo to all public agencies in the Makkah region, including the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. In his circular, Prince Khalid wrote that the Council of Ministers had resolved this issue in decision no. 187m which dates back to 23 July 2005. The circular, which he issued on February 28, defined women's work as based on a letter which Prince Khalid Al-Faisal had received from the Minister of Labor Ghazi Al-Gosaibi, stating the measures governing their employment. The letter refers to the new labor law, which cancels a previous bylaw that disallowed women mingling with men in the workplace. This bylaw has been superseded by a general bylaw within the new labor law that is applicable to both women and men. Prince Khalid's circular came in response to a request for clarification sent to the Governorate by the executive director of Khadeja Bint Khuwailid Center at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, about women's participation in national development and obstacles facing women. Prince Khalid then sent a circular to all the heads of governmental agencies indicating the rules governing women's work, based on the letter he had received from the Minister of Labor. Gosaibi's letter focused on the new rules, especially the bylaw which supersedes Article 4 in the previous law, which restricted women's mingling with men in the workplace. The new bylaw makes it mandatory for business owners and workers (regardless of gender) to abide by Islamic Shariah when they implement the new labor law, especially the bylaw defining women's work. This clause effectively abolishes article 4. The circular said that the Council of Ministers has resolved this issue in its decision mentioned above, in which it precisely decided that the Ministry of Labor is the only authority responsible for the implementation of rules governing women's work and their hiring by business owners, on the grounds that the execution of the labor law comes under the ministry's jurisdiction. This explicitly indicates that the involvement of other parties in the implementation of work rule constitutes a violation to the Council's decision. About the obstacles hampering women from investing their wealth, the circular said there are many parties involved in this issue, including the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The letter stressed the need for cooperation among these institutions to find ways to ease the flow of women's capitals within the country's economy. __
