The Saudi religious police, or the Hai’a as the group is locally known, has been in the news in recent years for a host of reasons. Most of the reported news has been an unflattering portrayal of questionable tactics by some overzealous members of the organisation, formally known as the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.
Although their current chief has promised reforms and assured a wary public that extremist views among the Hai’a staff would not be tolerated, isolated incidents by individual Hai’a members seem to affirm the view held by some that the group has been overstepping its boundaries in the private matter of citizens and residents alike, and more dramatic reforms must take place to reassure a public growing increasingly weary of their transgressions. A report surfaced recently that has many convinced that the Hai’a still has a long way to go in reforming its approach towards dealing with the public. It started when a group of women decided to organise a beauty pageant to showcase their creations and market their products. According to one of the organisers, the women floated the idea of setting up the fashion event and their goal was strictly to make some money and not create any social disharmony.
The beauty pageant was going to be run by women for women and strictly with no men allowed. But the committee in charge of planning it disagreed on how the pageant was to be processed causing one disgruntled committee member to go and complain to the Hai’a members that such an activity was on the cards.
In a quandary
The Hai’a, needing no second invitation, arrested several of the women involved, took them in for interrogation and then had them sign personal declarations that they would not organise such events in the future. The organisers were left in a quandary as they lost a considerable sum of money for the venue hall they had booked for the event as well as the money paid in advance for the banquet that was to follow, and the dresses that were never sold. What made the incident more tragic is that several of the husbands involved became suspicious of their wives’ intentions and went to the extremes of divorcing or threatening to divorce their wives for indulging in ‘nefarious’ activities that were against their traditions and beliefs.
The story has made its rounds on social media and the majority was aghast at the turn of events that had concluded with the women being sent home as if they had committed a grave crime. One woman commented that it was ‘absolutely absurd that the Hai’a got involved when they were called as it was a private event held exclusively by and or women’. What was the harm in that, she wanted to know.
One businessman commented that it was such hard-line reaction to an innocent event that gives extremism a shot in the arm. This was not a mixed gender event, so what was so objectionable about it? “Is this one more way to suppress women under our thumbs,” he wondered.
Another individual, long frustrated by the Hai’a said: “Who was harmed? Can someone please explain to me what law was broken? Women wished to gather and dress up and admire each other’s clothes and makeup. This is normal behaviour. All the organisers wanted to do was make money selling clothes or products to each other. This is a normal business practice. There were no reports of men being invited. In fact the event was cancelled. So again: What Sharia law was broken? What immorality occurred? Who was harmed?” The Hai’a does it again!
A young man supported the idea of the intervention by the Hai’a. “These women will stop at nothing if it was allowed to go on. This is not in our culture or our traditions. Today they want a fashion show. Tomorrow they will be demanding to drive cars on the road. When will it stop? Will they want discos next? They are all being brainwashed by foreign ways and values and frankly it is good that someone put a stop to this nonsense.”
And finally, one from a middle-aged mother: “I had concerns when I first saw the flyers in Makkah about such an event. But to be arrested, lose 100,000 Saudi riyals and get divorced??!!! Isn’t that blown way out of proportion? What is so wrong or bad about a group of women or girls having such an event that women already do when they’re anywhere together, because evaluating other women and what they dress up in is a social norm. I personally don’t see the need for the Hai’a getting involved. Maybe the organisers needed permits or authorisation but what happened was excessive for a beauty pageant.”
It is unfortunate that the commendable work of the Hai’a in general is often overshadowed by the excessive reaction of some of its members who exercise personal interpretation of what is right or wrong in the execution of their duties. Such actions generate no goodwill towards the group as a whole.
Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi socio-political commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
