Saudi Arabia ( Female guards at schools spark intense debate)

Intense public debate continues around the employment of female security guards at girls’ schools, with some arguing that teachers and supervisors should take up this role.
Some parents have argued that these guards are vital to tackle conflict between girl students, bullying and inappropriate behavior toward teachers.
Alfirdaus Samira Alharkan, a school director, supports having female guards, especially at entrances and inside the premises of intermediate and high schools, to tackle improper behavior such as smoking and bullying.
Abdulaziz Al-Atisham, a Shoura Council member, supports the idea and argues it can help solve many problems at schools. He said the government has taken several decisions recently to ensure women can become part of the work force.
“The challenges are mainly bureaucratic in nature. Many people are challenging the employment of women as cashiers, but the reality is that they are more punctual in terms of reporting to work and sticking to working hours.
“Female guards currently stand outside school buildings, and have no involvement in what goes on inside. Why are no female guards employed to remain inside and monitor issues among students?”
Psychiatric consultant Faiqah Badr said women should not only be employed at schools as a means of job creation. It should also be seen as a way to train women to help deal with students who are at a very sensitive stage of their lives.
Writer Suzan Al-Shadi said she was concerned that female guards would overstep their mandate to ensure control of students. She also doubted whether the Department of Education would train them properly so that they were aware of their rights and obligations.
Writer Mohammed Al-Sahimy rejected the idea of employing female guards inside girls’ schools. “Teachers and supervisors should be capable of taking on this role so students do not feel they are being monitored.”
He said teachers have recently moved away from their role as mentors and focus only on teaching. He urged the education department to place emphasis on training teachers to be both educators and mentors capable of addressing any issue at a school.