 Until 2002 different departments regulated education for males and females, as women's education was controlled through the Department of Religious Guidance while men's education was overseen by the Ministry of Education.The reason the Department of Religious Guidance retained control of education for women was to ensure that the women were educated in accordance with the principles of Islam as interpreted in Saudi Arabia, which traditionally espoused that women take roles that would be considered gender appropriate such as motherhood, housewifery, teaching, or nursing.According to Natana Delong-Bas, the apparent suppression of women's education by contemporary Wahhabi regimes is due to the adherence to the interpretation of Wahhabi Islam.