» 01/07/2012 10:31 SAUDI ARABIA Only female assistants in Saudi lingerie shops A royal decree puts an end to a dispute that pits women’s groups, who complain about the embarrassment of being served by men, against more conservative clergy opposed women working outside the home.
Riyadh (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Saudi women have won, but with strong opposition, the battle to work: a royal decree has established that from now on there will only be female personnel in lingerie shops, a principle that should also extend to perfume shops in July.
Currently in the Kingdom, women may offer their services only in health care - only to treat other women - and in government offices. There is also another novelty here: the spokesman of the General Directorate of Passports, Badr Al-Malik has announced that soon there will be female staff to control entry and exit visas from the country. They will be in charge of searching other women. And even if they can not wear the uniform and will not receive a military education, they will receive a salary equal to that of their male counterparts.
But the issue of the lingerie stores has been a real battle: on one hand the women and their organizations complained about the embarrassment of having to be served by male sales assistants, on the other the most conservative of the powerful Wahhabi clerics maintain that women must stay at home. The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdel Aziz al-Sheikh, described the employment of women as "a crime, forbidden by sharia". Moreover those in favour of the new law claim 40 thousand potential new jobs will be created and those who are against it say it will result in salespeople loosing their jobs.
"This issue - observes Asharq Al-Awsat – is part of the growing tension between liberals and religious conservatives, and can lead to opposition from the religious police."
In the meantime, observers from the Ministry of Labour will follow the first week of the female staff at work, to be sure that they are not bothered.
