WUNRN
SAUDI ARABIA - WOMEN BANNED FROM VISITING MALE DOCTORS
WITHOUT MALE GUARDIAN PRESENT
A “fatwa” (edict) issued by the Council of Senior Scholars prohibits women from visiting male doctors without having male guardians present.
The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haia) has officially prevented women from visiting male doctors at medical clinics without male guardians.
This came after a member of the Council of Senior Scholars issued a “fatwa”
(edict) prohibiting women from visiting male doctors without having male
guardians present.
“Islamic law does not permit women to visit their doctors without male
guardians,” said Qais Al-Mubarak, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars.
“Women are prohibited from exposing body parts to male doctors in Islamic law,
especially during childbirth. This does not include medical emergencies.
Islamic jurisprudence makes exceptions,” he added.
Male guardians can only be the next of kin in Islam. They are sons, grandsons,
husbands, brothers, fathers or uncles.
Sources said that Haia members recently issued orders to employees working at a
nutrition center not to admit women patients unless a guardian accompanies them
during their weekly visits. This decision caused huge losses to the nutrition
center in a single week, according to the source.
Many women have opposed this decision, saying their male relatives are not
available to accompany them on a weekly basis.
“This is going to be a huge burden for us. Many of us don’t have male
guardians. Those of us who do, can’t depend on them, as they have work and
travel commitments,” said Muneera Dawood, a stay-at-home mother.
“Does this mean that I have to wait for my husband to be free to go on my
weekly checkup? This is a serious matter. Going to the doctor is not a luxury
like going to the hair salon,” she said.
Al-Mubarak said male doctors could conduct medical examinations on female
patients only if female physicians are unavailable and only if male guardians
accompany them. “Unaccompanied visits to male doctors can have negative
implications,” he said.
The owner of a private hospital in Jeddah said that most female patients
already attend to their appointments with their male guardians.
“We do not allow any patient, whether a man or a woman, to be inside the
doctor’s room without having a nurse present. Aside from them having to assist
the doctor with their work, they are also there to prevent free mixing between
doctor and patient,” he said.
“We don’t see women coming to the hospital as un-Islamic and we usually don’t
even see women coming alone, so we don’t have a problem with this new fatwa,”
he said.
A local Jeddah clinic said it has not received word from the Ministry of Health
on the matter. “Our clinic is like a beauty center for women to get facials and
undergo other forms of skin treatment. It is almost impossible for men to join
them and I’m sure this would make other patients uncomfortable,” said Dr.
Waleed Abdulmajeed, a dermatologist at the local clinic.
“We will not ask our patients to be accompanied by guardians unless we receive
an official note from the ministry itself,” he said.