We take pride in our service, say female guides in Madinah

The number of female Hajj volunteers has risen dramatically this year. (SPA)
Updated 16 August 2018
Follow

We take pride in our service, say female guides in Madinah

  • The female guide monitors all the data for the pilgrim and records them in the automated system
  • In the event of death, she reports it to officials in the health care office, who complete the necessary procedures

MAKKAH: Female guides in Madinah expressed pride in their work as part of the Kingdom’s care of pilgrims during their time in the country.

Riham Husni told Saudi Press Agency (SPA) about her first experience of serving visitors to Madinah, the city of the Prophet. 

“I hope to continue for the next few years and to make my family and the National Guides Establishment, which has given me the chance to do this noble job, proud.”

Majida Habash said she has worked in this field since 2005, and now, female guides offer more services as part of a comprehensive plan for female visitors. 

Majida said every female guide has a role to play in health care, including accompanying a female pilgrim when she goes into hospital and following up the case until she receives treatment, leaves the hospital or is transferred to another facility. 

The female guide monitors all the data for the pilgrim and records them in the automated system. In the event of death, she reports it to officials in the health care office, who complete the necessary procedures. Majida stressed the keenness of all involved to develop the role of the teams working in this field. “Our main duty is to serve the pilgrims and offer them a helping hand,” said Hala Samman. “The job is different from any other job, and I hope to work in the years to come and to serve the pilgrims better,” she said.

“The female guides follow their health conditions in the hospital. It is a great honor to do this humanitarian work every day and provide the necessary requirements to help pilgrims perform their pilgrimage.”

Hayat Hawalah said she works in the morning shift, and records patients’ data in the system. It is an honorable experience that she hopes she can do for years to come.

Wedian Fakhrani said the work is done in coordination with all the other female guides to provide the best services for pilgrims and visitors during the pilgrimage season. Abrar Mahmoud said she provides care for pilgrims at King Fahd Hospital in Madinah and follows up their cases until they leave the hospital.

Inas Al-Fal praised the efforts of all female staff during the pilgrimage season, while Samah Abdel-Hafiz said she conducts her work through statistically monitoring sick pilgrims in King Fahad Hospital.


Saudi Arabia launches initiative to reroute Gulf cargo to Red Sea ports

Updated 13 March 2026
Follow

Saudi Arabia launches initiative to reroute Gulf cargo to Red Sea ports

  • The initiative comes as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted by the widening conflict in the region
  • Since the US and Israel struck Iran last month, Tehran has moved to restrict passage through the waterway

 

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has launched an initiative to redirect shipping from ports in the Arabian Gulf to its Red Sea ports amid the ongoing US-Israel-Iran war.

Transport Minister Saleh Al-Jasser, who also chairs the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), launched the Logistics Corridors Initiative alongside Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority Governor Suhail Abanmi, Mawani President Suliman Al-Mazroua, and other officials, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The initiative will establish dedicated operational corridors to receive containers and cargo redirected from ports in the Kingdom's Eastern Region and other Gulf Cooperation Council states to Jeddah Islamic Port and other Red Sea coast ports.

Al-Jasser said the Kingdom was committed to ensuring supply-chain stability and the smooth flow of goods through global trade routes. Jeddah Islamic Port and other west coast ports, he added, were already playing a key role in accommodating shipments redirected from the east, while also linking Gulf cargo to regional and international markets.

The initiative comes as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted by the widening conflict in the region. Iran has long threatened to close the strait — the world's most critical oil and gas chokepoint, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass — in the event of a war.

Since the US and Israel struck Iran last month, Tehran has moved to restrict passage through the waterway, sending freight rates soaring and forcing shipping companies to seek alternative routes.

Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports offer a viable bypass, connecting Gulf cargo to global markets without passing through the strait.