Saudi Arabia closes 100 lingerie shops with male sales staff
Saudi Arabia's labour ministry has ordered the closure of around 100 lingerie shops in the capital Riyadi for having men on their sales staff, according to reports.
King Abdullah issued a decree in June last year limiting work for females at lingerie shops to Saudi women only in a bid to reduce high female unemployment Photo: GETTY IMAGES
2:53PM BST 16 Sep 2012
A ministry official reportedly told the Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper that all shops which violate a decree on the "feminisation and nationalisation of jobs" would be shut down.
The measure aims to "provide a safe environment for working women," he said.
The ministry at the start of the year banned male assistants from working at lingerie shops, as a first step to be followed by women-only sales assistants at cosmetics outlets.
King Abdullah issued a decree in June last year limiting work for females at lingerie shops to Saudi women only in a bid to reduce high female unemployment in the conservative kingdom. The decree was issued despite the objections of top clerics.
Unemployment among women in the oil-rich state is estimated at 30 per cent.
Strict segregation of the sexes outside the home that is enforced in Saudi Arabia by the kingdom's powerful religious police means that women are effectively barred from many jobs.
Source: AFP
