- Over 28,000 women have already applied for the jobs
Saudi
Arabia's government announced today that it will begin enforcing a law that
allows only females to work in women's lingerie and clothing stores, despite
disapproval from the country's top cleric.
The 2006
law banning men from working in female apparel and cosmetic stores has never
been put into effect.
This is
partly because of the stance of hard-liners in the religious establishment, who
oppose the whole idea of women working where men and women congregate together,
like malls.
 |
| The 2006 law banning men from working in female apparel and cosmetics stores has never been put into effect until now |
Saudi women
- tired of having to deal with men when buying undergarments - have boycotted
lingerie stores to pressure them to employ women.
The
government's decision to enforce the law goes into effect this Thursday.
More...
The country is home to Islam's holiest site in the city of Mecca and follows an ultra-conservative form of the religion known as Wahhabism.
 |
| Saudi women will now be allowed to buy the attire without worry of embarrassment |
The
kingdom's religious police, under the control of the Commission for the
Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, enforce Saudi Arabia's strict
interpretation of Islam, which prohibits unrelated men and women from mingling.
Women and
men in Saudi Arabia remain highly segregated and are restricted in how they are
allowed to mix in public.
The
separation of men and women is not absolute.
Women in
Saudi Arabia hold high-level teaching positions in universities and work as
engineers, doctors, nurses and a range of other posts.
The strict
application of Islamic law forced an untenable situation in which women, often
accompanied by uncomfortable male relatives, have to buy their intimate apparel
from men behind the counter.
Over the
past several weeks, some women have already begun working in the stores.
And with
the kingdom boasting 7,353 lingerie shops in total, there is clearly demand
from fashion-forward Saudi women.
Attire
beneath the burka is naturally a very private issue, and only for the eyes of a
woman's husband.
Traditionally,
a shalwar kameez - a loose-fitting trouser dress combination - is worn. Also
popular, as many high-end fashion houses will attest, is Western-style
clothing.
Although
the decision affects thousands of men who will lose their sales jobs, the
Labour Ministry said that more than 28,000 women, many of them South Asian
migrants, have already applied for the positions.
Saudi's
Arabia's most senior cleric, Sheik Abdul-Aziz Al Sheikh, spoke out against the
Labour Ministry's decision in a recent sermon, saying it contradicts Islamic
law.
'The
employment of women in stores that sell female apparel and a woman standing
face to face with a man selling to him without modesty or shame can lead to
wrongdoing, of which the burden of this will fall on the owners of the stores,'
he said.
He also
urged store owners to fear God and not compromise on taboo matters.
And here's
the man to thank...
He's
probably not the first person you would have on your mind as being the face of
lingerie, but King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has become something of a hero to
women in his home country.
It was he
who issued the decree banning all men from working in lingerie shops to end
'embarrassment' suffered by women who don't want to give men their
measurements.
Saudi women
working in the outlets got embroiled in a dispute three years ago with the
Labour Ministry and the powerful religious authority, which issued a fatwa
banning such jobs.
 |
| Unlikely hero: King Abdullah of Saudia Arabia issued a decree banning men from working in lingerie shops |
The decree
from the king was part of a push to reduce the amount of female unemployment in
the conservative kingdom, currently at around 30 per cent.
Saudi women
say they have been uncomfortable buying lingerie from men and would prefer
female sales assistants.
Fatima
Garub, founder of a Facebook campaign called 'Enough Embarrassment', backed the
king's decision saying it would create about 6,000 jobs for Saudi women.
'From now,
embarrassment will end,' she said. 'We thank the king who felt our problem and
took the decision that we have been waiting for a long time.'
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Photograph: New Israel Fund
|
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