The commission employs the police unit that enforces the kingdom's strict Islamic lifestyle.

The police patrol public places to ensure women are covered and not wearing make up, the sexes don't mingle, shops close five times a day for Muslim prayers and men go to the mosque and worship.

He said the agents stopped the women to give them "advice and guidance" after they noticed they were wearing makeup.

"One of the women took out a black container and sprayed a tearing substance at them while the other filmed what happened with her phone camera while making improper comments," al-Marshoud said.

"The women apologised for attacking the two commission members, signed a statement and were released," he added.

Not equal

In a related development, commission members banned female shoppers from sitting in a makeshift outdoor restaurant to have their fast-breaking meal in a low-income neighbourhood in the western port city of Jeddah because men were already seated at special tables set up for the holy fasting month of Ramadan, according to Al-Watan newspaper.

The paper quoted Muhammed Mehdawi as saying commission members forced his wife and children to eat their food while standing next to him. Other women stood by the stands that run the modest eatery.

Ali al-Luhayyan, head of the commission's Jeddah branch, said the agents' actions were meant as a deterrent, "especially since some of the women were dolled up, and also to prevent the mixing of the sexes that could happen at such events and which our religion rejects," the paper said.

Mohammad al-Zalfa, a member of the all-male Shura Council, sparked a heated debate two years ago when he proposed reforms for women, including a lifting of the ban on women driving.

The advisory body, however, refused to debate the plan.