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Riyadh: The recent decision taken by Saudi authorities to allow women to stay alone in hotels without a male relative is facing strong opposition from fundamentalists.
Some segments in Saudi society, particularly businesswomen and human rights activists are welcoming the decision.
The new decision allows for women living in the kingdom to stay at a hotel or furnished apartment without a male guardian.
"The previous situation subjected Saudi women to numerous difficulties when circumstances would force them to stay at a hotel alone," said Abeer, an employee at a health institution. She recounted that one day she arrived from Riyadh, where she works to an eastern province late at night, via King Fahd International Airport.
"I went to a hotel in Dammam to spend the night before I proceeded in the morning to a destination outside the city. The receptionist rejected my request saying that I should have a male guardian with me despite the fact that I had all my personal documents," she said.
Destination
In vain, Abeer says she waited at the hotel's reception for almost an hour before hiring a taxi to take her to her destination, which was 100 kilometres from Dammam.
The Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Industry sent a circular to hotels asking them to accept women in their rooms even if they are alone, provided that all their information are sent to the nearest police station.
The woman should show a personal identity card with her photo and provide the hotel with all relevant personal information.
The decision was taken following a study conducted jointly by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Interior, the Supreme Commission for Tourism and the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (CPVPV).
Shaikh Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Al Shaikh, the kingdom's Grand mufti called for a revision of the decision. Appearing over Al Majd satellite TV channel, Shaikh Abdul Aziz warned against the consequences of the decision.
"I do not think that whoever has faith in his heart will accept this for his immediate female relatives," he pointed out.
For his part, Shaikh Othman Al Othman, the deputy chief of CPVPV in Riyadh said that the coming period will reveal the shortcomings and positive impact of the decision.
He added that there are some controls established towards allowing a woman to stay at hotels without a male guardian, such as placing her in a room far from those of male bachelors.
In statements published earlier by the Arabic language Al Hayat newspaper, the CPVPV official said that the decision should only be applied at certain hotels. Although he did not elaborate, he went on to say that all CPVPV centres have been notified of the new decision. Abdul Rahman Al Dossary, a Sharia student at the Islamic university in Riyadh, criticised the decision labelling it as violating the rules of Sharia.
Saudi women had a different viewpoint to that of Abdul Rahman's. They said that the decision enhanced a woman's confidence.
I went to a hotel in Dammam to spend the night before I proceeded in the morning to a destination outside the city. The receptionist rejected my request saying that I should have a male guardian with me despite that fact that I had all my personal documents."
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