Salesmen to be banned from Saudi lingerie shops

Jan 2, 2012, 15:26 GMT

Riyadh - Only women are to be allowed to work in Saudi lingerie shops, the Ministry of Labour announced on Monday.

The decree will be implemented starting Thursday, forcing shops to replace their salesmen with female shop assistants across the kingdom.

More than 28,000 women have come forward to take up jobs as salespeople in lingerie and accessory shops following a July government decision to force stores to hire female staff.

The decree was seen by activists as a step towards empowering women and giving them more job opportunities.

King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz, seen as a political and social reformer, has promised to bring social change to the country.

But several of his decisions have met opposition in the country's senior clerics, who oppose giving women more of a voice, with Saudi Grand Mufti Abdulaziz AlSheikh saying on Friday that employing women in shops was a crime and disrespectful.

In September, the king said women would be appointed as members of the advisory parliament, and be allowed to run for and vote in municipal elections.

The parliament also recently announced that women would not be required to obtain the permission of a male guardian to vote.

Saudi women cannot travel unless they are accompanied by a male guardian or are over 45 years old.

The oil-rich kingdom also remains the only predominantly Muslim country that has yet to allow women the right to drive.