Women Volunteer to Wash the Dead
Safia Al-Asmari; 2/5/08
Washing the deceased before burial is an Islamic imperative, but it’s not the most appealing job in the world — especially for women in Saudi Arabia. But Arab News found a number of women at Al-Muhajereen, a Makkah-based company that provides pre-burial services, who do the job out of a desire to earn God’s grace. These women have other jobs, such as teaching at secondary school and university. Awatef Abdulhamid Manshy, a 48-year-old mathematics teacher, told Arab News about her experience. “One of my relatives died late at night,” she said. “I went with my husband to search for a washer but we couldn’t find anyone because it was very late. I thought to myself: ‘If I were able to do this job we wouldn’t have a problem.’ Later I decided to join a training center for pre-burial preparations, and then I became a professional.”
See: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=109527&d=2&m=5&y=2008
Tags: Death & Burial, Saudi Arabia