Alladin goes bra shopping.

Wow, that's so progressive of them!

Lingerie Shops to Employ Women
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News

JEDDAH, 30 June 2005 — The Labor Ministry yesterday announced a timetable for employing Saudi women instead of men in shops selling women’s clothing, underwear and other such items.

“Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi has taken a decision that limits employees in shops selling women’s lingerie and clothing to Saudi women,” the Saudi Press Agency said, adding that the decision would be fully implemented within two years.

The ministerial decision stipulates that all lingerie shops in the Kingdom must employ only Saudi women within a year while shops selling women’s clothing have two years to comply with the decision.

“Shop-owners must also design their shops so those outside cannot see inside and that prevents any interaction with men. Shops must also have special entrances for women only,” the decision said.

The move comes after a Cabinet decision in May last year which directed that more jobs and business opportunities be created for women. The Cabinet issued a nine-point plan which included restricting jobs in shops selling items for women only to Saudi women.

Al-Gosaibi said his ministry would gradually stop the recruitment of foreign workers to fill jobs in shops selling women’s accessories, adding that labor cards would not be given to foreigners working in a sector restricted to Saudis.

The minister urged shop-owners to take the necessary steps to comply with the decision within the specified period. Women should also be given training to enable them to do the new jobs; the training will be with the support of the Manpower Development Fund and in coordination with other government agencies engaged in training Saudis.

Many women’s shops in the Kingdom are currently staffed by men. Recently several women have written articles complaining about the irony of the situation in a country that does not allow women to drive or to be seen with a man who is not a relative.

The Labor Ministry said it would conduct a survey of shops selling women’s clothes and accessories and monitor the measures they take in order to comply with the new decision.

On Tuesday, addressing a graduation ceremony at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Al-Gosaibi said the nationalization of jobs was the duty of every Saudi. He said the ministry had been successful in finding jobs for nearly 30,000 Saudis in a single month.

Al-Gosaibi urged the private sector’s cooperation in ending the problem of unemployment among Saudis. He said young Saudis were adapting to the job environment in private companies.