{"id":5291,"date":"2020-01-26T15:13:44","date_gmt":"2020-01-26T21:13:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.drhatemalhaj.com\/qa\/?p=5291"},"modified":"2020-01-26T15:14:31","modified_gmt":"2020-01-26T21:14:31","slug":"female-muslim-nurses-washing-male-patients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drhatemalhaj.com\/qa\/?p=5291","title":{"rendered":"Female Muslim Nurses Washing Male Patients"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00ad What is the opinion of Muslim scholars as regards Muslim women working as nurses in non-Muslim countries, in consideration of the nature of the job of nursing and being obliged to view and touch males private parts, in many times? News say that they refrain from washing male patients’ private parts, are they right in this, and what should they do?<\/span><\/p>\n

Kindly, read the following report and give your advice to Muslim woman nurses who are meant with this report.<\/span><\/p>\n

The following are the report and its link.<\/span><\/p>\n

Netherlands: Nurses Union says Muslims might not be suitable for nursing<\/span><\/p>\n

Netherlands: Nurses Union says Muslims might not be suitable for nursing<\/span><\/p>\n

If Muslim nurses have objections to washing the buttocks of male patients, they should ask themselves whether they’re suitable for the job, says the Dutch Nurses’ Association (V&VN). The organization recently wrote guidelines for conscientious Objections.<\/span><\/p>\n

Francis Bolle of V&VN says that in general there are relatively few nurses of Muslim background working in hospitals. Bolle says that the reason might be that Muslims, and in practice it’s mostly Muslim women, have difficulty with physical contact with patients, for example, during washing.<\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/islamineurope.blogspot.com\/2010\/01\/netherlands-nurses-union-says-muslims.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IslamInEurope+(Islam+in+Europe)<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All praise be to Allah and may His blessings and peace be on His last messenger, Muhammad,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We have two different principles here that we have to consider:<\/p>\n

1-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The impermissibility of looking at or touching of the \u2018awrah (nakedness-to-be-covered) of anyone, whether of the same gender or an opposite gender. This is certainly more emphasized with the opposite gender. The great emphasis on this in Islam is meant to keep the moral integrity of the society and its family values, among many other health, emotional, psychological, and social benefits.<\/p>\n

2-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The need of treating those who are sick, which is a collective obligation on the community. It is, also, an act of charity which is to be extended to all people, as the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) said, \u201cKind treatment of every living creature is an act of charity.\u201d<\/p>\n

In light of the above, it was permitted for health care workers, whether physicians or nurses to treat members of the other sex, but a (comparably competent) same gender nurse or physician should be first sought by the patient whenever possible. This was stated in Decision: \u200e81 (8\/12)\u200e of the Islamic Fiqh Assembly of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)\u200e, which also advised the health authorities to do their best to encourage women to enter the \u200efield of medicine, \u200eso as to limit the need for an opposite sex physician treating the female patients who desire to be treated by same gender providers.<\/p>\n

This is also the position of the members of the Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas, KSA, who indicated in their answer to a question about female nurses washing male patients, that it is permissible, given the absence of a male counterpart.<\/p>\n

In ar-Rawd al-Murbi\u2019, a classical Hanbali book, al-Buhooti states, \u201cIt is permissible for the physicians and their likes to look at or touch (the \u2018awrah of patients) for a need,\u201d Ibn al-Qasim commented, in his Hashiyah, by saying, \u201clike the one who looks after a male or female patient, and helps them with wudu or istinjaa\u2019 (washing of private parts)\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

These positions are in accordance with the balance between the basic principles mentioned here above, and the various reports in the authentic collections indicating that the female companions, such as ar-Rubaye\u2019, Oum \u2018Atiyah, and \u2018Aishah, would follow the armies to provide water to the soldiers and treat the wounded.<\/p>\n

As for the case in question, since there is no possibility to follow the guidelines provided here above, including the seeking of a same gender nurse first, it seems that this encounter will be routine for those nurses, not an exception. Therefore, I would recommend for the female nurses who are faced by this dilemma to:<\/p>\n

1-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Seek appointment in specialties or practice settings where they don\u2019t encounter this problem \u2013 or encounter it less frequently.<\/p>\n

2-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As long as they are in training or they work in the fields that require of them to wash male patients, and they can\u2019t switch with male colleagues, then they should:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. a)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Perform the job that is considered part of their obligation as nurses.<\/li>\n
  2. b)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Look at and touch only that which is necessary for the adequate performance of their job, and offer their patients respect and privacy as much as possible. That is part of their work ethics anyway.<\/li>\n
  3. c)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Use barriers (gloves), which they are required to use anyway by the current standards of health care.<\/li>\n
  4. d)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Avoid seclusion, which is not expected in the health care setting since doors are not usually locked.<\/li>\n
  5. e)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Limit the interaction to the professional aspect, and perform what is required, while avoiding any inappropriate interaction with the opposite gender patients.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Allah says, \u201cSo keep your duty to Allah and fear Him as much as you can\u201d [at-Taghabun 64:16]<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    All Praise Is Due to God.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u00ad What is the opinion of Muslim scholars as regards Muslim women working as nurses in non-Muslim countries, in consideration of the nature of the job of nursing and being obliged to view and touch males private parts, in many times? News say that they refrain from washing male patients’ private parts, are they right […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[84,55,40],"tags":[365,366],"class_list":["post-5291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gender-interactions","category-transactions-and-employment","category-women-issues","tag-muslim-nurses","tag-washing-male-patients"],"views":884,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drhatemalhaj.com\/qa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5291"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drhatemalhaj.com\/qa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drhatemalhaj.com\/qa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drhatemalhaj.com\/qa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drhatemalhaj.com\/qa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5291"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.drhatemalhaj.com\/qa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5295,"href":"https:\/\/www.drhatemalhaj.com\/qa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5291\/revisions\/5295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drhatemalhaj.com\/qa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drhatemalhaj.com\/qa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drhatemalhaj.com\/qa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}