One of the rituals of Haj is Tawaf, the circumambulation of the Kaaba. Tawafah refers to guides or escorts who assist pilgrims in performing the various stages of the entire pilgrimage. Saudi women work as escorts for female pilgrims, naturally, but they want to be more professionalized and have a greater say in how these services are offered. Good for them!

Women demand permanent positions on Tawafah boards
Badea Abu Al- Naja | Arab New

MAKKAH: Most women officials of Tawafah establishments demand that they should be represented with a woman member on the boards of directors of the five Tawafah establishments that look after Haj and Umrah pilgrims annually.

The women workers also demand that they should be offered permanent employment covering the whole year instead of the present system of seasonal recruitment.

“The absence of women on the board of directors of Tawafah establishments, no doubt, weakens the quality of services offered to women pilgrims. On the other hand, if there is at least one member, women pilgrims could be served in a better manner. We hope that our demand will be listened to favorably,” Fatin Muhammad Hussein, chairperson of the women’s committee at the South Asian Tawafah Establishment, told Arab News in an interview on Friday.
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