Lingerie Sales May Break Record in Arabia by Policy

A senior official at the Ministry of Labour told Arabic daily Al-Eqtisadiah the women would replace male salesmen at 7,353 outlets across the Gulf kingdom, as the government moves to increase retail roles for women.

"In the past, it was very difficult for Saudi women to get job opportunities at these shops dominated by foreigners,” said Fahd Al-Tukhaifi, assistant undersecretary for development.

Riyadh has seen the highest number of applications from Saudi women keen to secure sales roles, he added, with more than 5,600 putting their names forward for a position.

Al-Tukhaifi said stores selling make-up, women’s clothing, abayas and accessories should be careful to ensure any female recruits would not come into contact with male employees.

"If any employer wants to hire Saudi saleswomen at an abaya shop, then there should not be any salesmen working together with them at the shop,” he told the business daily.

Saudi Arabia enforces restrictions interpreted from the Wahhabi version of Sunni Islam. Men and women are strictly segregated in public, a rule that has shuts women out of sales jobs in malls and stores - unless the store caters exclusively to a female clientele.

The Gulf kingdom said in November it had hired hundreds of inspectors to force stores to comply with a ruling that said only women could work as clerks in lingerie and other stores. The government's decision to enforce the law goes into effect this Thursday.

In October, it issued a circular to stores selling women’s fashion and lingerie warning they would be placed on a visa blacklist if they failed to phase out their male staff.