Women mutawifs want to do field work during Haj

Omnia Khudari
Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — A number of women mutawifs who participated in the first workshop held by the Ministry of Haj have urged the government to give them an opportunity to work in the field and serve pilgrims during the upcoming Haj.

Shadiya Janbi, who works as mutawif, said it is important that the Guests of Allah be provided with all possible services. She also said female mutawifs wanted to be on the board of directors of Tawafa establishments and work in the field.

She said: “Female mutawifs want to be on the field to help female pilgrims. We don’t want to do administrative work only. We want to be out there in the action and we have the capability to do that.”

Dr. Fatimah Othman, assistant professor at King Abdulaziz University, presented a paper on how geographic information systems and artificial intelligence could serve Haj and Umrah pilgrims.

Wafa Banah, who also works in the tawafa field, said the workshop benefited her and helped her stay updated with the latest developments in information technology and how mutawifs can better serve pilgrims.