DUBAI: The leading United Arab Emirates Islamic body has issued a fatwa stating that female nurses in emergency room hospitals are permitted to see the “sensitive” parts of female patients for treatment needed. The ruling was sarcastically laughed at by residents, who told Bikyamasr.com that they did not think doctors needed a ruling to do their jobs. “We don't live in the Dark Ages. This is Dubai and we should be a little more mature than to think this would infringe on someone's rights in religion,” said Dubai doctor Monsour Abdullah Aziz. But the Fatwa (Islamic edict) center of UAE's Ministry of Justice disagreed, instead issuing the ruling in response to a query by an Emirati woman, who recently joined the gynecology section of a local hospital. The nurse reportedly was asking if she were allowed to see the genitals of a female patient, even though that is the field she works in. The center, quoted by the Arabic language daily al-Khaleej said: “Seeing these parts of a female patient's body is allowed at ICU as long as it is for the sake of treatment.” “What is done at ICUs is governed by rules that permits things which are otherwise prohibited…if the treatment of a patient requires exposure of sensitive parts of the body, then this is permissible,” the center added. Aziz remarked that at most hospitals, “this is not even a question. Our duty is to save patients and as Muslims I think we have enough discretion to know what is appropriate and what is not.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/r9M9b Tags: Doctors, Fatwa, Hospital, Islam, UAE Section: Latest News, Religion, United Arab Emirates, Women
