2002 Mecca girls' school fire

Coordinates: 21°24′58″N 39°48′58″E / 21.416°N 39.816°E / 21.416; 39.816 The 2002 Mecca girls' school fire happened on March 11, 2002 in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Fourteen pupils were killed. The event was especially notable due to complaints that Saudi Arabia's "religious police" (aka the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice) stopped schoolgirls from leaving the burning building and hindered rescue workers because the girls were not wearing correct Islamic dress.^[1] As Hanny Megally, Executive Director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch put it, "Women and girls may have died unnecessarily because of extreme interpretations of the Islamic dress code. State authorities with direct and indirect responsibility for this tragedy must be held accountable."^[2]

Fire and controversy

According to Saudi press reports the blaze at Makkah Intermediate School No. 31 started at about 8am. The blaze began in a room on the top floor, apparently caused by an unattended cigarette.^[3][4][5]

As a result of the fire and ensuing rush to escape, 14 young girls died, and more than 50 were injured. Nine of the dead girls were Saudis; the rest were from Chad, Egypt, Guinea, Niger, and Nigeria.^[4] The majority of the deaths occurred when a staircase collapsed as the girls fled the building. The residential property upon which the school was built, being overcrowded with 800 pupils, was very unsuitable. In addition, the building may have lacked proper safety infrastructure and equipment, such as fire stairs and alarms.^[2]

According to at least two reports, members of the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV), also known as Mutaween, would not allow the girls to escape or to be saved from the fire because they were "not properly covered", and the mutaween did not want physical contact to take place between the girls and the civil defense forces for fear of sexual enticement, and variously that the girls were locked in by the police, or forced back into the building.^[2][6] Civil Defense stated that the fire had extinguished itself before they arrived on the scene. CPVPV officers did appear to object to Civil Defense workers going into the building, though at best their efforts slowed down the evacuation of the wounded. Human Rights Watch quoted a Civil Defense officer as saying,

"Whenever the girls got out through the main gate, these people forced them to return via another. Instead of extending a helping hand for the rescue work, they were using their hands to beat us."

The CPVPV denied the charges of beating or locking the gates but the incident and the accounts of witnesses were reported in Saudi newspapers such as the Saudi Gazette and Al-Iqtisaddiyya. The result was a very rare public criticism of the group.^[6]

Also criticized was the General Presidency for Girls' Education (GPGE), "an autonomous government agency long controlled by conservative clerics", that administers girls' schools in Saudi Arabia.^[2]

Inquiry

An inquiry was launched by the Saudi government in wake of the deaths. The investigation was led by Abdul Majeed, the governor of Makkah. The Interior Minister, Prince Naif, promised that those responsible for the deaths would be held accountable.^[7] Naif, at the time, noted that the deaths didn't happen as a result of the fire, but rather the stampede caused by the panic. He acknowledged the presence of two mutaween and that they went there to prevent "mistreatment" of the girls. But he asserted that they didn't interfere with the rescue efforts and only arrived after everyone had left the building.^[7]

On March 25, the inquiry concluded that while the fire had been caused by a stray cigarette, the religious educational authorities responsible for the school had neglected the safety of the pupils.^[3] The inquiry found the clerics had ignored warnings that overcrowding of the school could cause a fatal stampede. It also found that there was a lack of fire extinguishers and alarms in the building. Accordingly, the cleric in charge of the school was fired, and his office was merged with the Ministry of Education. The report dismissed allegations that the mutaween (of CPVPV) had prevented the girls from fleeing or made the death toll worse.^[3]

Many newspapers welcomed the merger of the agency responsible for girls' education with the Ministry of Education. Previously, the agencies had been separate and girls' education had been in the hands of the religious establishment. The newspapers saw the merger as a step towards "reform".^[3]

See also

• Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice
• Wahhabism
• Islam in Saudi Arabia

References

1. ^ BBC News. 15 March, 2002, Saudi police 'stopped' fire rescue
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Human Rights Watch. Saudi Arabia: Religious Police Role in School Fire Criticized". http://hrw.org/english/docs/2002/03/15/saudia3801.htm. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} "BBC News. 25 March 2002, Cleric sacked over Saudi school fire". http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1893349.stm. Retrieved 2009-12-31. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Arab News. 13 March 2002, Shock turns to outrage over school fire tragedy
5. ^ Christopher Dickey and Rod Nordland, The Fire That Won't Die Out, July 22, Newsweek.
6. ^ ^{a b} Abou el Fadl, Khaled, The Great Theft, (2005), p.250-2
7. ^ ^{a b} Naif denies commission men prevented rescuers, Arab News, March 18, 2002.

External links

• Arab News. 12 March 2002, 14 girls die in Makkah School Stampede
• Arab News. 13 March 2002, Heads must roll say press
• Arab News. 13 March 2002, Shock turns to outrage over school fire tragedy
• Arab News. 14 March 2002, School Guard refutes allegations
• Arab News. 16 March 2002, Abdullah vows action to prevent repeat of Makkah School Tragedy
• Arab News. 18 March 2002, Naif denies commission men prevented rescuers
• Human Rights Watch. Saudi Arabia: Religious Police Role in School Fire Criticized
• BBC News. 15 March, 2002, Saudi police 'stopped' fire rescue
• BBC News. 25 March, 2002, Cleric sacked over Saudi school fire