Saudi women in the security field: Tradition vs. Necessity
10/06/2012 By Bandar Al-Shraideh
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=29937

Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat- The delegates at the International Conference on
Border Security, that was recently held in the Saudi capital Riyadh,
unanimously agreed that there is an urgent need for the employment of women
in the security services, in view of what they could achieve in dealing with
issues relating to female defendants in prisons.

A field study prepared by Dr. Ghada al-Tarif, professor of criminal
sociology at Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University, reported that
despite the need for Saudi women to work in the field of security, women are
currently limited to a selection of security posts. The problems facing
women hoping to work in the field of security were summarized by general
obstacles, and obstacles tied to the nature of the work, such as social and
cultural traditions. The professor of sociology believed that the matter now
requires more scientific studies to identify the exact obstacles facing
women, and to work to overcome them, so that women can make a positive
contribution to the security domain.

The study touched upon the lack of research dealing with women working in
the security field in general, and studies looking into the obstacles and
difficulties that they face in particular. It called upon specialists to
study this topic in-depth to identify the obstacles that are preventing the
active recruitment of women in the security sector, so that decision makers
can develop a strategy and mechanism to address them.

Al-Tarif’s study draws upon previous studies and research carried out by a
number of researchers and scholars, relating to women’s work in general and
their work in the field of policing in particular, some of which were
conducted on a global level, and others relating to the Arab states. One
such source material was “An evaluation of the performance of policewomen in
the UAE; a comparative, analytical study of female police staff in the
Emirate of Abu Dhabi”. The results showed that female police officers and
policewomen faced a number of difficulties that weakened their desire to
exert more effort and improve their performance. These difficulties included
their male colleagues looking upon women as being weak, the ease of
spreading rumors that can affect women and their behavior, and the media’s
lack of interest in highlighting the role of women in the police.

However, the study showed an increase among young girls in wanting to join
the female police force, which indicates that society is encouraging girls
to participate in security work, as they are greatly needed in areas such as
child welfare and penal institutions. Yet it was clear that Emirati
policewomen complained of a lack of cooperation with their leaders and
colleagues at work. This is despite the fact that such leaders have declared
their outright encouragement for women to work in the police force, in
addition to the increasing desire of female officers to open up new fields
of security employment.